LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


RECEIVED    BY  EXCHANGE 


Class 


*i$ 


^5»**33? 


Of 


THE 


OF 


TRINITY   CHURCH,  UTICA,  N.  Y. 


ONE  HUNDRED  YEARS 


-OF— 


tTrinitiP  Gburcb, 


UTICA,  N.  Y. 


Edited  by 


REV.  JOHN    R.    HARDING. 


UTICA,  N.  Y.: 

'KESS  OF  THOMAS  J.  GRIFFITHS,  131  GENESEE  STREET. 

1898. 


m*3 


PR E FA C  E 


The  papers,  addresses  and  letters  herein  given  are  printed  in 
full  just  as  they  were  presented  at  the  time.  The  article,  'The 
Choirs  of  Old  Trinity,"  was  not  read  during  the  centennial, 
but  kindly  contributed  since  then  by  Mr.  John  Burt  of  New 
York,  a  former  Utican  and  organist  of  Trinity  Church. 

The  roll  of  Rectors,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen,  was  compiled 
in  1887  by  Mr.  D.  Walter  Perkins  of  Trinity  Parish,  and  re- 
printed here  as  a  valuable  addition  to  this  history. 

It  was  also  thought  appropriate  in  thus  recording  the  story 
of  One  Hundred  Years,  to  say  something  here  about  the  cen- 
tennial as  a  wliole,  which  article  is  the  last  in  the  book. 

The  illustrations  of  the  building,  and  the  portraits  of  the 
founder  and  several  rectors,  will  undoubtedly  lend  an  interest. 
The  only  regret  is  that  a  diligent  search  has  failed  to  secure 
any  photograph  of  the  first  three  rectors,  Rev.  Jonathan  Judd, 
Rev.  Amos  Glover  Baldwin,  and  Rev.  Henry  M.  Shaw.  Our 
gratitude  is  extended  to  all  those  who  in  these  papers,  ad- 
dresses and  letters,  thus  willingly  and  freely  contributed  their 
interest  and  time,  as  a  work  of  love.  Due  credit  should  be 
given  also  for  the  able  assistance  rendered  the  editor,  by  his 
colleagues  on  the  centennial  committee,  Mr.  William  M. 
Storrs,  and  Mr.  George  M.  Weaver,  the  Wardens  of  the  par- 
ish. 

We  trust  that  this  little  volume  in  being  a  permanent  re- 
minder of  the  loyalt>  and  good  deeds  of  an  honored  past,  may 
also  be  for  all  its  readers  an  inspiration  for  the  future.  With 
this  wish  it  it  respectfully  dedicated  to  all  of  Old  Trinity's  sons 
and  daughters,  past,  present  and  to  come. 

JOHN  R.  HARDING. 
Trinity  Rectory,  Utica,  N.  Y., 
All  Saints  Day,  1898. 


217317 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Arthur,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.,  Letter  from 79 

Arthur,  Rev.  John,  Letters  read  by 72 

Bagg,  Dr.  Moses  M.,  Paper  by 94 

Brown,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  Letter  from 72 

Burt,  Mr.  John,  Paper  by 131 

Centennial  Exercises,  An  Account  of  the 148 

Centennial  Exercises,  Programme  of  the 7 

Central  New  York,  Diocese  of  ...  .    10 

Chase,  Rt.  Rev.  Philander,  LL.D., Recollections  of 88 

Chase,  Rev.  Dudley,  Retired  Chaplain,  U.  S.  A.,  Address 

by 88 

Choirs  The,  of  Old  Trinity 131 

Congratulation,  Addresses  of 10 

Harding,  Rev.  John  R.,  Paper  by ii<5 

Historical  Society,  The  Oneida  County, 19 

Hubbard,  Mr.  Robert  J.,  Letter  from -  85 

Huntington,  Rt.  Rev.  Frederick  Dan,  L.L.D.,  Address  by  10 

Kinney,  Hon.  Thomas  E.,  Address  by 18 

Laymen  of  Trinity  Church,  Some  Prominent 96 

Maxon,  Rev.  William  D.,  Address  by 57 

Miller,  Miss  Blandina  D.,  Paper  by 96 

Mohawk  Valley,  Early  Church  History  of  the  Lower,  . .  21 

Olmsted,  Rev.  Charles  T„  S.  T.  D.,  Address  by,    14 

I  'aris  Hill,  St.  Paul's  Church, 11 

Pastors  of  Utica  16 

Peas,  Mrs  Elizabeth  C,  Letter  from 83 

Pendleton,  Rev.  J.  Philip  B.,  D.  D.,  Paper  by 21 


Perkins,  Mr.  D.  Walter,  Article  by 136 

Proctor,  Mr.  Thomas  R.,  Address  by 19 

Rectors  Trinity's,  The  Work  and  Characteristics  of  ... .  116 

Rectors,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen,  Roll  of 136 

Reminiscence,  Letters  of  72. 

Sister  Parishes  of  Utica, 14 

Spiritual  Needs  of  Our  Age,  The  Church's  Adaptability  to 

the 57 

Storrs,  Mr.  William  M.  Chairman,   7 

Trinity  Church,  Recollections  of  94 

Utica,  The  City  of 18 

Weaver,  Mr.  George  M.,  Paper  read  by 94 

Wicks,  Rev.  John  B.,  Address  by 11 


* 


Services  anb  Hbbresses* 


MR.  WILLIAM  M.  STORRS, 
Senior  Warden  Trinity  Church,  Chairman. 


WEDNESDAY,  JUNE  15th. 
7:30  P.  M.,  Processional.    Hymn  520. 

Creed,  Versicles  and  Prayers. 
Addresses  of  Congratulation. 

For  the  Diocese  of  Central  New  York, 

Rt.  Rev.  F.  D.Huntington,  L.  L.  D. ; 
For  St.  Paul's  Church,  Paris  Hill, 

The  Rev.  John  B.  Wicks; 
For  the  Sister  Parishes  of  Utica, 

The  Rev.  Charles  T.  Olmsted,  S.  T.  D. 
Hymn  672. 

For  the  Pastors  of  Utica, 

The  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Brown,  D.  D. 
For  the  City  of  Utica, 

Hon.  Thomas  E.  Kinney,  Mayor. 

For  the  Oneida  County  Historical  Society, 

Mr.  Thomas  R.  Proctor. 
Benediction — Recessional  Hymn  516. 


9:00    In  Trinity  Parish  House. 

Reception  by  the  Parish,  to  the  Bishop,  Clergy  and  Laity 

of  the  Diocese  and  vicinity. 

THURSDAY,  JUNE  16th. 

9:30  A.  M. — Holy  Communion. 

Processional  Hymn  445. 

Hymn  197. 

Offerings  for  the  Missions  of  the  Diocese. 

Communion  Hymn  225. 

Nunc  Dimittis. 

11:00  A.  M. — Hymn  491.    Prayers. 

Paper. 

4 'The  Early  History  of  the  Church  in  the  Lower  Mohawk 
Valley,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  Philip  B.  Pendleton,  D.  D., 
Rector,  St.  George's  Church,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 


Hymn  485. 
Paper, 
"The  Church's  Adaptability  to  the  Spiritual  Needs  of  Our 
Age,"  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  D.  Maxon,  D.  D.,  Rector, 
Calvary  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Benediction — Recessional,  Hymn  253. 


1  :oo  P.  M.    Luncheon  in  Trinity  Parish  House. 


3  :oo  P.  M.    Hymn  487.    Prayers. 

Letters  of   Reminiscence    from   former   Parishioners   of 

Trinity  Church,  read  by  Rev.  John  Arthur,  Rector 
St.  John's  Church,  Oneida. 
Letters  by  Mrs.   Elizabeth  Brown,    Denver,   Colorado; 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Arthur,  Utica;    Mrs.   Isabella  C. 
Peas,  Mohawk ;  Mr.  Robert  J.  Hubbard,  Cazenovia. 

Hymn  179. 

Address. 

"Some    Recollections   of    the    Rt.    Rev.    Philander 
Chase,  LL.D.,  First  Bishop  of  Ohio  and  Illinois,"  by 
his  son,  The  Rev.  Dudley  Chase,  Retired  Chaplain, 
U.  S.  A.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Paper — by  Dr.  Moses  M.  Bagg,  Utica. 

Prayer — Benediction. 

Recessional,  Hymn  511. 


7:30  P.M.    Processional.    Hymn  187. 

Creed,  Versicles  and  Prayers. 
'Hymn  584. 

"Some     Prominent   Laymen   of   Trinity     Church," 
written  by  Miss  Blandina  D.  Miller,  Utica,  and  read 
by  Mr.  George  M.  Weaver,  Junior  Warden,  Trinity 
Church. 
Paper, 

"The  Work  and  Characteristics  of  Trinity's  Rectors,"  by 
Rev.  John  R.  Harding. 

Doxology, 

"Praise  God  from  whom  all  Blessings  flow." 
Prayers — Benediction. 
Recessional.    580. 


Of    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


INTERIOR  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH, 
At  the  time  of  the  Centennial. 


O*    TH£ 

UNIVERSITY 


ADDRESSES   OF   CONGRATULATION. 


For  the  Diocese  of  Central  New  York. 

RT.  REV.  FREDERICK  DAN  HUNTINGTON,  L.  L.  D. 

"You  must  know  that  I  am  here  simply  because  I  could  not 
stay  away,"  he  said,  "and  that  is  my  greeting  to  you.  We  are 
gathered  as  churchmen  and  churchwomen,  and  not  only  as 
members  and  friends  of  Old  Trinity.  The  beginning  and 
growth  of  old  Trinity  mark  the  beginning  and  growth  of  the 
community  to  which  we  belong,  and  we  belong  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  on  the  earth.  It  makes  us  feel  as 
if  we  would  like  to  take  each  other  by  the  hand.  A  well-known 
Englishman  says  that  the  power  of  any  great  people  depends 
on  continuing  and  completing  the  work  of  its  ancestors.  He 
says  that  if  we  look  over  the  history  of  nations  one  can  always 
date  the  decline  from  the  time  they  ceased  to  have  reverence 
in  the  heart  for,  and  faith  in  those  before  and  above  them. 
That  is  the  secret  of  continued  prosperity.  When  the  people 
begin  to  neglect  or  under-rate  the  labors  of  their  ancestors, 
they  begin  to  decline.  How  true  that  is  of  civil,  ecclesiastical, 
State  and  Church  growth!  If  men  only  remember  what  true 
greatness  is;  if  they  will  only  remember  that  character  consti- 
tutes national  grandeur,  or  grandeur  of  the  church ;  if  this  is 
the  spirit  of  the  American  land  and  nation,  we  shall  fnfill  the 
promise  of  the  old  prophet  who  said  "The  life  of  the  true  is 
the  life  of  my  people,  for  they  are  the  chosen  of  the 
1 


io  One  Hundred   Years  of 

Lord  and  shall  eat  of  the  fruit  of  their  doings,  and  not  labor  in 
vain,  and  they  shall  prosper.'' 

That  is  the  precise  condition  of  the  strength  and  prosperity 
with  any  people  and  the  people  of  any  parish.  Reverence  is 
the  root;  reverence  for  God  and  God's  ordinances;  reverence 
for  the  past,  for  law,  for  authority.  It  is  found  as  nowhere 
else  in  this  church  of  the  Apostles,  and  so  you  and  I  attend 
the  centennial  of  Trinity  with  gratitude  and  joy. 

Just  at  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  this  parish  there  was 
a  transition  period.  Utica  ceased  to  be  simply  an  old  fort, 
and  became  what  it  was  to  be.  We  have  some  traces  of  that 
strange  time,  but  it  shows  this,  that  its  growth  was  two-fold, 
from  the  missionary  force  outside  and  the  inherent  powers 
inside.  Here  conies  the  late  Philander  Chase,  missionary,  one 
hundred  years  ago,  and  finds  a  few  scattered  families,  who 
know  the  Prayer  Book  and  the  Apostles  Creed,  and  could 
say,  "Our  father  which  is  in  heaven."  He  looked  them  up 
and  drew  them  together.  There  were  lay  readers  who  after 
his  departure  read  the  service.  So  it  went  on  for  five 
years,  and  then  another  missionary  came,  and  it  was  three  years 
more  before  there  was  anything  like  a  church  or  a  sanctuary. 
In  the  general  convention  of  1795  there  were  eight  clergymen 
and  sixteen  laymen,  constituting  the  convention.  Utica  was 
the  frontier.  It  was  twenty  years  before  there  was  the  Diocese 
of  Ohio  or  Western  New  York.  The  law  of  growth  attains 
in  both  conditions,  the  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical.  They  had 
ireverent  faith  in  their  hearts,  and  so  deep  and  sincere  was  it 
that  it  triumphed  over  everything.  The  future  has  been  the  fu- 
ture which  is  now  the  past,  which  you  are  enjoying  to-night. 
You  look  about  and  see  what  Utica  is.  You  will  agree  that 
the  Church  has  been  the  unpretending  but  steadfast  witness 
to  the  unseen  world,  and  the  evidence  of  its  reality.  To-day 
according  to  the  directory  of  the  city  there  are  fifty-three  relig- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  n 

ious  societies,  about  one  for  every  thousand  people.  We  are 
sorry  that  they  are  not  worshiping-  in  the  same  church.  We 
wish  that  all  said  the  Apostles  Creed.  We  wish  they  were  all 
•enjoying  what  we  enjoy,  and  believe  what  we  believe.  We  are 
glad  and  grateful  for  what  God  has  given  us.  But  those 
deviations  in  worship  and  ordinance  do  not  separate  Christian 
hearts,  and  so  we  have  this  for  congratulation.  We  speak  one 
name  above  all.  We  open  the  pages  of  the  same  Bible.  It  is 
a  common  heritage  that  we  have.  May  we  not  say  that  if  all 
have  been  quite  consistent  in  the  confessions  of  faith  that 
would  have  been  something  nearer  to  the  grand  unity  of  the 
Christian  faith.  That  marks  the  duty  of  the  future.  You  are 
under  double  obligations  to  bring  forth  the  truth  of  God's 
goodness  to  you.  The  remembrance  of  the  past  should  be  a 
stimulus  to  the  future,  and  all  pleasant  and  bright  things 
recalled  are  a  motive  and  an  appeal.  This  puts  us  under  bonds 
of  obedience.  The  better  days  are  to  be  repeated.  There 
have  been  men  here  since  I  came  thirty  years  ago  who  were 
worthy  successors  to  the  old  pioneers.  They  were  your 
guardians." 


For  St.  Paul's  Church,  Paris  Hill,  N.  Y. 

REV.  JOHN  B.  WICKS. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Paris  Hill,  one  hundred  and  one  years 
young,  sends  greeting  to  Trinity  Church,  Utica,  one  hundred 
years  young.  You  have  been  busy  an  entire  century  building 
a  temple,  and  now  as  you  put  the  cap-stone  in  place,  we  join 
our  shoutings  with  yours,  "Grace,  grace,  unto  it." 

The  temple  you  have  shaped  is  not  a  building  of  wood  and 
stone  that  passes  away,  but  a  house  of  character  that  liveth 
ever  more  and  more. 

I  recall  many  of  the  men  and  women,  the  living  stones  of 
this  building.     Among  your  rectors  it  has  been  my  privilege 


12 


One  Hundred   Years  of 


and  pleasure  to  know  more  or  less  intimately,  Drs.  Proal  and 
Ooxe,  Messrs.  Gardner  and  Harding. 

In  my  boyhood  days  Dr.  Proal  was  frequently  at  Paris  Hill 
in  exchange  with  the  rector  there.  My  father's  farm-house 
was  his  stopping  place,  and  memory  holds  the  scene  as  the 
good  Doctor  sat  in  the  home  circle  making  it  glad  with  the 
words  of  wit  and  wisdom.  It  seems  but  yesterday,  though 
fifty  years  have  passed  that  the  thrifty  house-wife  brought  in 
the  refreshing  beverage,  brewed  from  the  very  nectar  of  the 
honey — metheglin  the  farmers  called  it.  I  can  see  the  glass 
held  lovingly  in  the  good  man's  hand  while  he  quoted, 

"Her  home  brewed  ale  she  made  so  good 

The  sexton  came  and  proved  it, 
The  rector  thought  it  not  amiss, 

And  harvest  men  all  loved  it." 

In  the  old  parish  on  the  Hill,  as  here,  the  Doctor  illustrated 
by  word  and  deed  a  very  genial,  sweet,  pure  gospel. 

Dr.  Coxe  was  his  successor,  and  I  knew  him  more  intimate- 
ly. In  the  Doctor's  study  I  passed  my  examination  for 
Deacon's  orders.  The  Doctor's  final  question  on  that  occa- 
sion wras,  " Please  repeat  the  last  two  verses  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment?" I  began,  hesitated  and  stopped.  The  Doctor  assayed 
to  help  me,  but  only  partially  succeeded,  so  that  together  we 
but  imperfectly  completed  the  quotation.  I  have  always  felt 
that  it  was  the  good  man's  generous  way  of  letting  me  out  of 
the  dilemma  easily.    His  ready  wit  was  proverbial. 

The  next  day  after  the  fence  was  removed  from  about  old 
Trinity,  Dr.  Goodrich  called  upon  the  rector,  and  told  him 
how  much  he  admired  the  improvement,  and  expressed  the 
wish  that  they  might  get  the  fence  about  Calvary  Church 
taken  away.  Dr.  Coxe  replied:  "Why,  you  can  do  it  easily, 
preach  a  sermon,  take  the  text,  'Sincere  and  without  offense.' ,: 
The  Doctor  was  every  inch  a  Christian  minister,  and  adorned 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  13 

his  holy  office  with  a  grace  and  dignity  that  could  not  be  ex- 
celled. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Gardner  who  followed  Dr.  Coxe  in  the 
rectorship,  came  to  you  in  the  strength  of  his  early  manhood, 
a  generous,  brave,  true  worker,  how  easily  he  won  all  our 
hearts.  But  yesterday  he  entered  upon  life  eternal,  and  his 
'''works  follow  him." 

Personally  Dr.  Maxon,  Mr.  Gardner's  successor,  has  not 
been  in  the  circle  of  my  friends  known  and  loved.  His  praise 
however,  is  in  all  the  churches,  as  his  wise  precepts  and  ex- 
ample find  place  in  all  your  hearts. 

For  him  who  breaks  the  bread  of  life  to  you  to-day,  the  Rev. 
John  R.  Harding, I  have  only  words  of  warm  praise.  Long  may 
he  minister  in  the  old  parish,  and  find  the  joy  of  his  heart  in 
Trinity's  men  and  women,  epistles  of  God  known  and  read 
of  all  men.  Several  of  your  Laity  I  have  known  and.  loved 
for  many  years.  I  read  their  names  on  the  tablets  here,  and 
across  all  the  canvass  of  your  parish  life  — Collins,  Comstock, 
Shearman,  Storrs,  Weaver,  Seymour  and  others.  The  inci- 
dents are  many  which  rise  and  linger  lovingly  in  memory's 
house  as  I  repeat  their  names.  How  clear  is  the  perspective 
of  an  interview  in  the  Deerfield  home  with  that  man  of  God, 
Horatio  Seymour.  I  called  upon  him  while  I  was  engaged 
in  the  Indian  work,  and  he  responded  to  my  interest  in  this 
wide  field  with  a  glowing  word  picture  of  the  greatness  of  the 
■Iroquois  nation  that  occupied  the  hills  and  vales  of  Central 
>New  York.  I  remember  he  took  down  a  large  map  of  the 
State,  and  finding  no  other  place  to  put  it  he  spread  it  upon 
the  floor,  then  got  down  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  pointed 
out  the  strong  points  in  the  tribal  location.  Instinctively  I  re- 
member I  assumed  the  same  position  he  did,  feeling  that  my 
attitude  at  heart  should  be  as  humble  as  his.  Of  the  other 
.good  and  true  men  and  women  of  your  parish  I  should  like  to 
speak  in  detail,  but  lack  of  time  forbids.     They  were  loyal 


14  One  Hundred  Years  of 

workers  in  this  historic  vineyard,  now  gone  to>  their  reward, 
while  you  have  entered  into  their  labors.  As  I  began  so  I 
conclude,  "All  hail,  Trinity  Parish,  Utica,  one  hundred  years 
young." 


For  the  Sister  Parishes  of  Utica. 

REV.  CHARLES  T.  OLMSTED,  S.  T.  D. 

I  come  this  evening  to  bring  the  congratulations  of  those 
whom  the  authorities  of  this  Parish,  with  courteous  modesty, 
designate  as  the  "Sister  Parishes."  But  we  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  regarding  Old  Trinity  as  the  "Mother  Parish,"  and 
ourselves  as  her  offspring.  No  doubt  a  girl,  when  she  gets 
to  be  sixty  years  old,  may  well  begin  to  feel  that  she  has 
Reached  the  point  when  she  can  be  looked  upon  as  her 
(mothers  sister;  but  it  will  generally  be  found  that  the  old 
lady  herself  still  considers  her  a  child,  and  does  not  approve 
of  her  getting  very  far  away  from  her  leading  strings.  How- 
ever, that  may  be  in  this  case,  whether  as  sisters,  or  as  daugh- 
ters and  grand-daughters,  we  come  to-night  with  hearts  full 
of  good  will  and  love  for  Trinity  Church,  and  offer  her  our 
most  sincere  congratulation  on  the  attainment  of  one  hun- 
dred years  of  life.  We  congratulate  her  on  the  wonderful 
vigor  which  she  has  shown  through  all  the  decades  of  the 
century.  I  confess  I  have  often  thought  with  admiration  of 
the  remarkable  strength  manifested  by  this  Parish  sixty  years 
ago,  when  she  was  able  to  send  off  to  Genesee  Street,  above 
the  canal,  a  self-supporting  colony,  which  became  the  Parish 
of  Grace  Church,  and  still  to  keep  on  her  way  here  on  the 
old  spot  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  And  we  congratu- 
late her  that  she  has  succeeded  in  "holding  the  fort"  here  in 
the  place  where  she  first  began — Old  Fort  Schuyler,  which 
originally  gave  its  location  to  the  village  of  Utica,  and  stood 
but  a  little  way  to  the  east  of  this  church,  is  now  gone.     Not 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  15 

one  stone  or  brick  of  its  structure  now  rests  upon  another, 
and  the  site  is  marked  only  by  two  or  three  guns  recently 
placed  there.  But  Trinity  Church,  which  began  its  work 
right  here  a  century  ago,  still  remains  here,  and  has  not 
yielded  to  the  bewitching  temptation  to  move  up-town,  which 
in  so  many  other  cities  in  this  land  has  caused  the  older  par- 
ishes to  leave  their  original  sites,  whence  the  wealthy  popula- 
tion disappeared,  and  to  go  off  to  greener  pastures  in  some 
other  neighborhood. 

But  the  thought  which  is  uppermost  in  my  mind  to-night 
in  connection  with  this  subject,  is  the  proper  relation  of  par- 
ishes to  one  another.  A  parish  is  simply  a  contrivance  for 
the  more  convenient  prosecution  of  the  work  of  the  church. 
We  are  all  engaged  in  that  same  work,  which  is  the  winning 
of  souls  to  Christ,  and  the  promotion  of  the  glory  of  God; 
and  our  parish  is  that  part  of  the  whole  church  in  which  we 
are  called  to  do  that  work.  The  relation  of  one  parish  to  an- 
other, then,  should  certainly  be  that  of  entire  sympathy  and 
good  will.  The  idea  that,  because  one  parish  has  a  hand- 
somer church,  or  a  finer  organ,  or  a  larger  number  of  per- 
sons confirmed  each  year,  another  parish  should  therefore  be 
jealous  or  envious  of  it,  is  very  absurd.  We  know  that  such 
feelings  are  in  our  human  nature,  and  that  they  have  been  al- 
lowed sometimes  to  manifest  themselves,  and  even  to  predom- 
inate in  the  working  of  the  parochial  system;  but  certainly 
they  are  unworthy  of  Christian  people,  and  ought  not  to  pre- 
vail among  us.  And  it  is  not  the  least  of  our  causes  for  con- 
gratulation, on  this  auspicious  occasion,  that  the  parishes  in 
Utica  can  be  truly  said  to  be  in  that  happy  condition,  in  which 
they  mutually  love  and  respect  each  other,  and  are  willing  to 
(work,  each  in  its  own  sphere  for  its  own  success,  and  also  to 
co-operate  in  harmony  and  good  will  for  the  promotion  of 
the  best  interests  of  the  church  at  large.  There  is  not  one  of 
us  that  does  not  rejoice  in  Old  Trinity's  success,  and  regard- 


1 6  One  Hundred  Years  of 

ing  her  strength  in  the    past    we   cordially    unite  in  saying 
"Semper  vigeat." 


The  Pastors  of  Utica. 

REV.  THOMAS  J.  BROWN,  D.  D. 

The  woman  in  the  parable  when  she  had  found  the  piece  of 
silver  she  had  lost,  and  the  shepherd  too  on  recovering  his 
lost  sheep  called  together  their  friends  and  neighbors,  saying, 
"Rejoice  with  me."  What  a  natural  impulse  of  a  generous 
heart  that  is?  The  touch  of  nature  that  makes  us  akin  to  that 
shepherd  and  that  woman  is  in  their  words  "Rejoice  with  me." 
Our  Lord  himself  would  have  his  chosen  friends  with  him, 
not  only  in  the  darkness  and  sorrow  of  Gethsemane,  but  in 
the  bright  clouds  and  transcendent  glory  of  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration.  Whatever  the  occasion  of  our  joy,  unless 
we  be  churls,  we  seek  to  share  it,  we  call  together  our  friends 
and  neighbors,  saying,  "Rejoice  with  me."  And  gladly 
friends  and  neighbors  respond  to  the  invitation.  If  any  mis- 
fortune had  befallen  this  parish,  if  your  greatly  esteemed  rec- 
tor were  taken  from  you,  or  your  buildings  destroyed  by  fire, 
every  congregation  in  the  city  would  be  prompt  to  offer  its 
sympathy  and  assistance.  How  gladly  then  should  we  all  join 
in  the  congratulations  and  happiness  of  this  hour. 

I  little  thought  when  I  came  to  you  on  the  celebration  of 
the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  your  Church's  consecra- 
tion on  the  same  errand  that  brings  me  here  to- 
night that  it  should  be  my  happy  lot  at  the  end 
of  seventeen  years  again  to  congratulate  you.  Then  I  knew 
of  you  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear;  now  I  know  you  by  witness- 
ing during  this  time  the  earnestness  and  fidelity  with 
which  you  have  continued  to  build  upon  the  firm  foundation 
laid  so  many  years  ago,  by  making  the  uninterrupted  growth 
and  prosperity  which  you  have  enjoyed,  and  by  the  pleasant 
personal  relations  which  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  have  with 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  17 

all  your  rectors  and  many  of  their  parishioners.  I  am  better 
fitted  for  my  task,  therefore,  than  I  was  seventeen  years  ago. 

It  is  a  very  simple  task,  however,  as  well  as  very  pleasant 
task,  and  one  that  may  be  quickly  discharged.  I  bring  to  you, 
dear  brethren  of  Trinity  parish,  and  to  you,  sir,  the  rector, 
the  sincere  and  hearty  congratulation  of  all  the  churches  and 
ministers  about  you  in  whose  behalf  I  may  be  permitted  to 
speak.  We  congratulate  you  on  your  past,  on  the  place  you 
have  won  for  yourselves  and  maintained  through  so  many 
years  in  the  brotherhood  of  churches.  You  are  proud  of  your 
history.  But  so  are  we  proud  of  your  history,  for  your  his- 
tory is  a  part  of  the  history  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  this  corner 
of  the  world.  No  man  liveth  to  himself;  no  church  liveth  to 
itself.  The  weal  of  us  all  is  wrapped  up  in  the  history  of  each. 
For  a  hundred  years  Trinity  parish  has  been  a  joy  and  a  bless- 
ing to  this  whole  community.  We  congratulate  you  on  your 
past. 

We  congratulate  you  on  your  present,  on  the  good  degree 
of  prosperity  you  are  now  enjoying,  on  the  many  fields  of  use- 
fulness in  which  you  are  engaged,  on  your  love  for  your 
church  and  the  spirit  of  earnest  and  hearty  co-operation  which 
animates  you.  Not  living  in  the  past,  not  content  with  attain- 
ment already  made,  believing  that  a  church  a  century  old 
should  be  still  in  its  youth,  you  are  recognizing  present  op- 
portunity for  adding  to  laurels  already  won,  and  giving  your- 
selves to  the  improvement  of  this  your  day  and  opportunity. 
In  all  this  you  have  our  earnest  sympathy.  We  congratulate 
you  on  your  present. 

We  congratulate  you  on  your  future — that  is,  on  the  bright 
prospect  before  you  as  you  enter  upon  the  second  century  of 
your  history.  To  the  whole  church  of  the  living  God  the 
future  is  ever  bright  with  the  promise  of  increasing  glory  and 
ultimate  triumphs.  Neither  in  the  past  nor  in  the  present  is 
to  be  found  its  perfect  work.    Not  yet  do  we  see  all  things  sub- 


1 8  One  Hundred  Years  of 

ject  to  the  sway  of  our  Lord  Christ.  But  we  shall  see  it,  or 
the  word  of  the  Lord  faileth  evermore.  And  each  church  and 
each  Christian  may,  by  the  grace  of  God,  contribute  to  and  be 
cheered  by  the  assurance  of  this  final  triumph.  "Forgetting 
the  things  that  are  behind  and  reaching  forth  unto  those 
things  which  are  before,  we  press  on."  Trinity  parish  need 
not  be,  and  will  not  be,  in  the  days  to  come,  second  to  any  in 
all  that  constitutes  genuine  success.  It  may  not  excel  in  num- 
bers; that  signifies  little.  Not  in  wealth;  that  signifies  less. 
It  may  not  have  advantag-es  of  location  or  ample  and  well  ap- 
pointed buildings.  Yet  in  devotion,  in  true  spiritual  life,  in 
service  for  our  common  Master,  in  likeness  to  Him  in  the 
ends  sought  and  the  manner  of  seeking  them,  it  may  still  hold 
on  its  way,  blessed  of  God  and  honored  of  all  men. 

Accept,  then,  our  congratulations  and  sincere  wishes  that 
all  grace  and  blessing  may  be  and  abide  with  you.  In  behalf 
of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  and  the  churches  to  which 
they  minister  I  will  now  say 

"Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and  prosperity, 

Within  thy  palaces.    For  my  brethren 

And  companions'  sakes,  I  will  say, 

Peace  be  within  thee." 


The  City  of  Utica. 

HON.  THOMAS  E.  KINNEY,  MAYOR 

It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  the  City  of  Utica 
on  this  occasion  should  acknowledge  the  great  debt  of  grati- 
tude she  owes  to  Trinity  Church  for  her  century  of  prayer  and 
noble  example  in  our  midst,  elevating  our  people  and  making 
them  better  Christians  and  citizens.  If  the  tree  is  known  by 
its  fruit,  and  the  church  by  its  members,  then  this  humble,  un- 
pretentious structure  has  some  claim  to  renown,  for  at  least 
two  of  the  mighty  in  the  land  worshiped  in  this  temple.  One 
was  nominated  and  thought  worthy  by  a  great  party  of  the 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  19 

country  to  grace  the  Presidential  chair,  first  held  by  the  fa- 
ther of  his  country.  The  other  refused  the  chief  justiceship 
of  the  United  States.  Yes,  the  brothers-in-law,  Seyniour  and 
Conkling,  were  members  of  this  church,  and  another  brother- 
in-law,  Rev.  Dr.  Coxe,  expounded  the  gospel  to  them  in  this 
edifice.  The  fame  of  this  church,  however,  does  not  rest  on 
the  shoulders  of  any  two  men,  however  great,  but  on  the 
thousands  of  its  humble  worshipers  who  have  here  found  that 
comfort  and  solace  promised  to  all  who  are  heavy  laden,  who 
seek  gospel  relief  in  the  proper  spirit. 

Trinity  Church  saw  Utica  cradled.  We  grew  up  around 
this  church.  Here  on  Broad  Street  were  the  culture,  refine- 
ment and  wealth  of  the  early  settlers  located.  A  change  has 
come  over  us.  The  wealth  and  fashion  of  Utica,  like  other 
cities,  have  taken  themselves  to  the  hills,  they  are  moving  up 
on  higher  ground,  and  business  and  manufacturing  establish- 
ments are  encroaching  on  old  Trinity's  parish.  We  all  hope 
that  in  the  march  of  progress  in  this  city,  Trinity  will  keep 
abreast  of  the  times,  and  that  she,  too,  will  go  to  the  hill  and 
seek  a  larger  vineyard  and  build  a  church  worthy  of  her  noble 
record.  As  she  was  with  us  in  the  beginning,  we  all  hope  she 
will  continue  to  shower  her  blessings  upon  us  "till  time  shall 
be  no  more." 


For  The  Oneida  County  Historical  Society. 

MR.  THOMAS  R.  PROCTOR. 

"I  am  reminded  that  but  for  an  accidental  lack  of  courtesy 
I  should  doubtless  be  one  of  you  at  this  time,"  said  Mr.  Proc- 
tor. "Many  years  ago,  when  I  came  here  as  a  stranger,  I  met 
one  or  two  families  who  attended  this  church,  but  no  word  of 
encouragement  came  from  them,  and  so  with  my  family  I 
wTent  to  another  church,  where  I  was  met  with  the  usual  per- 
functory reception  of  a  sexton,  and  was  shown  to  a  pew — one 
of  the  Doorest — and  I  have  been  in  the  same  location  ever 


20  One  Hundred   Years  of 

since.  There  has  been  one  great  improvement  inaugurated 
in  most  of  our  churches  since  those  days.  Prominent  young 
men  of  the  congregation  now  act  as  ushers,  and  meet  strang- 
ers with  a  pleasant  smile,  and  show  them,  to  the  best  seats  at 
their  disposal.  There  is  nothing  so  gratifying  to  a  stranger's 
heart  as  a  cordial  welcome  in  the  house  of  God. 

But  I  am  here  as  the  representative  of  the  Oneida  Historical 
Society.  When  I  received  the  courteous  note  of  your  rector 
inviting  me  to*  be  present  I  wondered  what  possible  connec- 
tion could  there  be  between  Trinity  Church  and  the  Oneida 
Historical  Society,  and  then  I  remembered  that  the  historical 
society  was  founded  by  Horatio  Seymour,  Charles  W.  Hutch- 
inson and  others  of  Trinity  Church,  and  some  other  promi- 
nent citizens.  Gov.  Seymour  was  our  first  president,  and  re- 
mained in  office  during  his  life;  he  was  at  the  same  time  the 
senior  warden  of  Trinity  Church.  So  we  are  an  off-shoot  of 
old  Trinity,  or  perhaps  we  may  be  better  considered  a  lay  mis- 
sion. As  such  it  seems  proper  that  we  should  give  a  brief  ac- 
count of  our  stewardship. 

The  society  was  founded  in  1876,  and  has  prospered  ever 
since.  It  was  the  means — under  the  guiding  hand  of  John 
F.  Seymour,  whom  many  of  you  will  remember  as  a  most 
courteous  and  kindly  gentleman — of  the  building  of  the  monu- 
ment on  the  battle  field  of  Oriskany,  which  stands  to  com- 
memorate a  most  important  battle  of  the  revolution.  It 
has  assisted  in  the  building  of  other  monuments.  It  has  col- 
lected a  library  of  several  thousand  volumes,  many  of  them 
relating  to  the  early  history  of  this  vicinity,  which  is  always 
open  for  the  use  of  students,  historians  and  others  who  take  an 
interest  in  such  matters.  It  has  been  honored  by  statesmen, 
historians,  scientists  and  other  distinguished  men,  who  have 
delivered  addresses  and  lectures  in  its  hall — and  these  have 
been  reported  in  the  press  of  this  city  and  State.  So  these  ad- 
dresses and  lectures  have  been  read  by  thousands  of  people. 


THE 

UNIVERSITY 

Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  21 

It  has  in  its  new  building-  many  articles  of  historic  interest, 
portraits,  manuscripts,  and  the  like.  It  has  in  many  instances 
assumed  the  care  of  complete  church  records  and  other  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  early  history  of  this  vicinity. 

During  the  past  year  there  have  been  collected  the  battle 
flags  of  the  Oneida  County  regiments,  carried  during  the  late 
war,  and  they  have  been  deposited  in  a  large  case  provided  for 
that  purpose.  Here  they  will  remain  to  speak  to  the  present 
and  future  generations  of  the  valor  and  patriotism  of  Oneida's 
sons.  This  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the  work  done  by  the 
Oneida  Historical  Society.  It  hopes  and  expects  to  continue 
its  vigorous  policy,  and  that  it  will  commend  itself  to  the  good 
will  and  support  of  the  people  of  Central  New  York.  To-day 
we  join  with  other  associations  and  institutions,  and  in  fact 
with  all  the  people,  in  wishing  that  only  good  things  may 
come  to  Trinity  Church."  , 


The  Early  History  of  the  Church   in  the  Lower  Mohawk  A* alley. 

BY  THE  REV.  J.  PHILIP  B.  PENDLETON,  D.  D.,  RECTOR,  ST.  GEORGE'S 
CHURCH,  SCHENECTADY,  N.  Y. 

The  invitation  of  my  reverend  brother,  the  Rector  of  this 
Parish,  to  be  present  at  this  centennial  anniversary,  and  to 
read  a  paper  on  "The  Early  History  of  the  Church  in  the  Mo- 
hawk Valley,"  was  accompanied,  I  am  frank  enough  to  say, 
by  a  suggestion  of  the  appropriateness  of  such  action  on  my 
part,  rather  than  by  an  allusion  to  any  special  qualifications 
that  I  might  possess  for  the  undertaking.  "As  you  represent," 
he  writes,  "the  oldest  parish  in  the  valley  at  the  Eastern  end, 
and  Trinity,  Utica,  the  oldest  at  the  Western  end,  I  thought 
it  most  appropriate  to  ask  you  to  give  such  a  paper  at  that 
time." 

Regarding,  therefore,  both  my  hearers  and  myself  on  this 
occasion  as  victims  of  propriety,  and  before  proceding  to  the 
more  general  considerations  of  our  subject,  let  me  venture 


22  One  Hundred  Years  of 

to  strengthen  this  plea  of  appropriateness  by  one  or  two  his- 
torical reminiscences.  From  these,  it  will  appear,  I  trust, 
peculiarly  proper  that  the  Rector  of  St.  George's  Church, 
Schenectady,  should  be  here  to-day  to  extend  to  Trinity 
Church,  Utica,  his  hearty  congratulations  on  the  successful 
completion  of  its  first  century  of  corporate  life,  not  only  on 
the  ground  of  geographical  and  chronological  relationships, 
but  also  on  account  of  personal  influences  and  associations 
that  have  united  these  two  parishes  during  this  period,  in  a 
common  work  for  the  Divine  Master.  It  may,  perhaps,  sur- 
prise some  of  you  to  hear  me  say,  that  St.  George's,  Schenec- 
tady, has  been  a  potent  factor  in  the  establishment  and  devel- 
opment of  this  venerable  parish,  and  perchance,  you  wonder 
on  what  grounds  I  feel  authorized  to  make  this  statement.  I 
will  endeavor  to  explain. 

In  October,  1796,  a  little  more  than  two  years  previous  to 
the  first  visit  of  the  Rev.  Philander  Chase  to  Utica,  the  Con- 
vention of  the  Diocese  of  New  York  (which  then  of  course  in- 
cluded the  whole  State),  passed  a  Canon,  from  which  we  quote 
as  follows : 

"It  is  hereby  ordained  and  directed  that  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  three  clergymen  and  three  laymen,  of  which  the 
Bishop  of  this  Church,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  chairman, 
shall  be  elected  at  each  annual  Convention,  and  shall  continue 
in  office  until  their  successors  shall  have  been  appointed.  They 
shall  be  styled  The  Committee  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  State  of  New 
York/  and  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  all  such  moneys  as 
now  are,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  contributed  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid,  in  such  way  as  they  may  judge  most  expedient,  or 
according  to  such  directions  as  may  hereafter  be  given  them 
by  the  Convention." 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Canon,  a  commit- 
tee was  immediately  appointed,  and  funds  were  collected  in 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  23 

the  congregations  of  the  Church  throughout  the  State.  The 
first  general  itinerant  missionary  that  was  appointed  under  this 
Canon  was  the  Rev.  Robert  G.  Wetmore,  who  spent  portions 
of  1797  and  1798  in  visiting  the  remote  and  unsettled  parts  of 
the  State,  and  in  supplying  services  for  vacant  parishes.  Mr. 
Wetmore's  labors  were  arduous  and  exacting.  He  travelled 
about  2,400  miles,  performed  divine  service  and  preached  107 
times,  baptized  47  adults,  and  365  infants,  and  distributed  many 
copies  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  as  being  in  his  opinion 
a  most  effective  missionary  agent.  In  the  discharge  of  his 
duties,  he  had  occasion  frequently  to  confer  with  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Hillison,  the  rector  of  S.  Peter's,  Albany,  and  while 
there  often  came  in  contact  with  Mr.  Philander  Chase,  a  Can- 
didate for  Holy  Orders,  who  was  pursuing  his  studies  under 
the  direction  of  the  Rector  of  S.  Peter's.  Mr.  Wetmore's  en- 
thusiasm was  contagious  and  when  the  state  of  his  health 
prevented  him  from  undergoing  for  a  second  year  the  fatigues 
incident  to  the  itinerant  work,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chase  volunteered 
to  take  his  place,  and  was  appointed  by  the  committee  as  its 
second  missionary.  He  was  ordered  deacon  on  May  10th, 
1798,  in  S.  George's  Chapel,  New  York  City,  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Samuel  Provoost,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wetmore  was  advanced, 
at  the  same  time,  to  the  priesthood.  The  latter  clergyman  had 
spent  considerable  time  during  the  preceding  year  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Utica,  officiating  for  several  months  at  Paris, 
and  he  was  strongly  impressed  with  the  advisability  of  begin- 
ning stated  services  at  Utica. 

He  had  evidently  imparted  his  conviction  to  the  new  Mis- 
sionary, for  we  find  in  Bishop  Chase's  "Reminiscences"  about 
this  time,  the  following  record  of  a  visit  that  he  paid  to  Mr. 
Wetmore,  who  had  then  become  settled  at  Schenectady — "re- 
turning to  Albany,  and  taking  sweet  counsel  with  the  worthy 
Mr.  Wetmore  at  Schenectady,  the  writer  set  his  face  towards 
Utica." 


24  One  Hundred  Years  of 

May  we  not,  therefore,  very  properly  claim  a  share  in  the 
initiation  of  the  movement  which  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  Trinity,  Utica?  Not  contented,  however,  with  this  early  in- 
fluence, S.  George's  has  been  instrumental  on  several  other  oc- 
casions in  furnishing  the  men  to  carry  on  the  work  of  God  in 
this  parish.  Of  the  eighty-nine  years  of  her  history  covered 
by  permanent  rectors,  twenty-seven  years,  or  nearly  one  third 
of  the  whole  period,  have  been  occupied  by  the  supplies  from 
S.  George's. 

After  a  rectorate  of  fifteen  years  in  Schenectady,  the  Rev. 
Pierre  Alexis  Proal  came  to  Utica,  and  for  over  twenty  years 
guided  the  affairs  of  Trinity  parish  with  rare  sagacity,  untiring 
energy  and  intense  spirituality,  and  for  a  period  of  seven  years, 
a  son  of  S.  George's  by  Baptism,  Confirmation  and  Ordination, 
the  reverend  brother  who  is  to  succeed  me  on  this  occasion 
with  an  address,  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  present  Rec- 
tor, discharged  the  duties  of  the  rectorship  with  unfailing  cour- 
age and  incessant  devotion.  And  since  writing  the  above,  I 
learn  that  the  present  Rector  of  Trinity,  while  an  under- 
graduate in  Union  College,  was  a  member  of  S.  George's 
Parish,  and  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  School,  and  speaks  of 
Schenectady  as  his  ''second  home." 

With  such  a  record,  have  I  not  substantiated  my  claim,  and 
demonstrated  to  your  satisfaction  the  peculiar  appropriateness 
of  the  presence  on  this  occasion  of  the  Rector  of  S.  George's, 
Schenectady. 

To  return,  however,  from  this  digression,  let  me  offer  a 
word  or  two  of  explanation,  as  to  the  method  and  scope  of 
the  treatment  of  the  subject  that  has  been  adopted  by  the 
writer  on  the  present  occasion. 

The  field  is  so  extensive,  the  accumulation  of  material  is  so 
vast,  the  facts  to  be  noted  are  so  interesting,  and  the  fascina- 
tion of  the  subject  is  so  engrossing,  that  he  has  experienced 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  25 

considerable  difficulty  in  determining   where    to    begin    and 
where  to  end,  what  to  narrate  and  what  to  omit. 

Should  any  one  be  disposed,  therefore,  to  criticize  the  length 
of  this  sketch,  let  me  volunteer  the  trite  remark  that  "If  I  had 
had  more  time  I  would  have  made  it  shorter;"  should  any  of 
my  brethren  be  inclined,  on  the  other  hand,  to  think  that  they 
have  been  slighted,  let  me  suggest  that  on  this  occasion  at 
least,  "age  comes  before  beauty,"  and  that  unless  a  parish  can 
trace  the  initiatory  movement  of  its  existence  to  a  period  prior 
to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  it  has  been  purposely, 
though  in  some  instances  very  reluctantly,  excluded  from  our 
narrative. 

The  Jesuit  Mission  in  the  Mohawk  Valley. 

In  this  locality  and  in  view  of  some  quite  recent  publications 
which  add  considerable  interest  to  the  early  efforts  of  the 
French  Missionaries  among  the  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations, 
I  have  thought  that  it  might  be  interesting,  before  passing  on 
to  the  history  of  our  own  Communion,  to  allude  briefly  to  the 
labors  of  that  noble  band  of  Christian  heroes  who,  "Despising 
ease,  comfort,  life  and  every  attachment  which  nature  renders 
dear  to  man,  endured  captivity,  suffering  and  mutilation,'  that 
they  might  preach  among  the  heathen  'the  unsearchable  rich- 
es of  Christ.'  " 

It  is  somewhat  of  a  coincidence,  that  the  first  written  de- 
scription of  the  Mohawk  Valley,  occurs  in  a  letter  of  Arendt 
Van  Curler,  a  resident  of  the  colony  at  Rensselaerwyck  (Al- 
bany), and  the  future  founder  of  Schenectady,  to  the  Patroon, 
Kilian  Van  Rensselaer,  of  Amsterdam,  Holland,  under  date  of 
June  1 6th,  1643.  The  contrast  of  its  rich  and  varied  scenery, 
to  the  monotonous  and  barren  sand  plains  which  he  had  tra- 
versed in  his  journey  thither  from  Beverwyck,  made  an  in- 
delible impression  upon  his  mind,  and  induces  us  to  place  him 


26  One  Hundred  Years  of 

at  the  head  of  that  long  list  of  writers  who,  whether  in  prose 
or  poetry,  have  descanted  on  the  natural  beauties  of  this  far 
famed  valley. 

"Within  half  a  day's  journey  from  the  Colonic,"  he  writes, 
"lies  the  most  beautiful  land  on  the  Mohawk  River  that  eye 
ever  saw."  The  immediate  cause  of  Van  Curler's  journey  was 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  lower  castle  of  the  Iroquois,  and 
of  obtaining  the  release  of  several  Frenchmen  whom  the  war- 
like Mohawks  had  recently  taken  prisoners.  Among  these  was 
the  saintly  Isaac  Jogues,  learned  Jesuit  Missionary,  "One  of 
the  first  to  carry  the  cross  into  Michigan,  and  now  the  first 
to  bear  it  through  the  villages  of  the  Mohawks." 

To  save  these  unfortunate  men,  Van  Curler,  in  company 
with  two  friends,  had  set  out  from  the  colony  of  Beverwyck, 
provided  with  suitable  presents,  and  upon:  his  arrival  at  the 
Indian  castle,  called  together  the  various  Mohawk  chiefs,  and 
demanded  the  release  of  their  captives,  offering  at  the  same 
time  for  their  ransom,  a  generous  gift  of  money,  which  to  their 
honor  be  it  recorded,  the  Dutch  settlers  of  the  Colonie,  "for- 
getful of  all  differences  of  creed,  and  actuated  by  the  holy  im- 
pulses of  the  Gospel,  had  generously  subscribed  to  purchase 
the  freedom  of  their  Christian  brethren." 

The  savages,  however,  were  not  to  be  moved,  either  by  ap- 
peals to  ancient  friendship,  or  by  the  influence  of  the  gifts. 
All  that  Van  Curler  could  accomplish  was  the  promise,  on 
the  part  of  the  Mohawks,  that  they  would  spare  the  lives  of 
their  prisoners  and  restore  them  at  some  future  time  to  their 
■  country.  Meanwhile  war-parties  were  continually  going  out 
against  the  French  and  Indians  of  Canada.  If  they  were  de- 
feated and  slain,  Father  Jogues  was  threatened  with  death  at 
the  stake;  and  if  they  came  back,  as  they  usually  did,  with 
booty  and  captives,  he  was  obliged  to  see  his  countrymen  and 
their  Indian  friends  mangled,  burned,  and  devoured,  for  it  is 
an  undeniable  fact  that  the  Mohawks  were  cannibals.    Jogues 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  27 

went  about  from  town  to  town  ministering  to  the  Christian 
prisoners,  and  converting  and  baptizing  the  heathen.  He  had 
baptized  up  to  the  time  of  his  escape,  about  seventy  of  the 
children  of  the  Mohawks  and  their  neighbors,  and  began  to 
regard  his  captivity  as  a  Providential  interposition  for  the  sav- 
ing of  souls.  So  conscientious  was  he  with  regard  to  this  sub- 
ject, that  when  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  the  settlement 
of  Fort  Orange  (Albany),  he  was  offered  by  Van  Curler  an 
opportunity  to  escape  from  his  Indian  captors,  he  greatly  as- 
tonished that  worthy  Dutchman  by  asking  for  a  night  to  con- 
sider the  matter  and  to  take  counsel  of  God  in  prayer.  And 
when  he  finally  decided  to  accept  the  kind  offer,  his  spirit  was 
sorely  troubled,  as  to  whether  or  not  he  was  justified  in  such 
action. 

After  experiencing  various  painful  vicissitudes,  he  reached 
his  home  in  France  on  January  5th,  1644,  but  after  a  short 
period  of  recuperation,  during  which  he  was  the  recipient  of 
royal  honors  from  the  Queen,  the  yearning  for  his  work 
among  the  Indians  overpowered  him,  and  in  the  spring  of  that 
same  year  he  returned  to>  Canada.  After  remaining  in  Mon- 
treal for  two  years,  he  set  out  again  to  visit  the  land  and  the 
people  of  the  Iroquois.  His  errand  was  partly  political,  part- 
ly religious.  While  he  was  the  bearer  of  gifts  and  messages 
from  the  French  governor,  he  was  also  prepared  to  establish 
a  new  mission,  designated  in  advance  with  a  prophetic  name, 
''The  Mission  of  the  Martyrs."  It  was  shortly  after  this,  on 
October  18th,  1646,  that  he  obtained  the  crown  of  martyrdom. 
"Thus  died  Isaac  Jogues,"  writes  Francis  Parkman,  in  his 
history  of  "The  Jesuits  in  North  America/'  "one  of  the  purest 
examples  of  Roman  Catholic  virtue  which  this  Western  con- 
tinent has  seen." 

In  the  course  of  the  following  year  Father  Bressani,  another 
Jesuit  Missionary,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois,  and  en- 
dured every  variety  of  torture  that  the    cruel  malice  of    his 


2  8  One  Hundred  Years  of 

captors  could  devise,  until  he  also  was  rescued  from  their 
hands  by  the  payment  of  a  generous  ransom,  on  the  part  of 
the  Dutch  settlers  at  Fort  Orange.  The  mission  to  the  Iro- 
quois was  continued  by  the  Jesuit  Missionaries  Le  Moyne, 
Garmier,  Fremin,  Bruyas  and  others,  until  in  1684  Jaegues  de 
Lamberville,  the  last  Jesuit  teacher  among  them  departed  for 
Canada  amid  the  lamentations  of  the  Onondagas,  who  escorted 
him  to  his  northern  home,  and  in  a  few  generations  all  ves- 
tiges of  the  work  of  these  devoted  men  had  apparently  van- 
ished from  the  Mohawk  Valley. 

First  Services  in  New  York. 

In  the  year  1664,  the  members  of  our  American  Church, 
which  was  then  known  as  ''The  Church  of  England  in  Ameri- 
ca," first  held  stated  religious  services  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
in  the  Dutch  Chapel  that  had  been  erected  in  the  fort  which 
stood  near  the  Battery.  With  the  exception  of  the  Chaplains 
to  this  fort,  and  one  peculiar  representative  of  the  ministry 
who  had  made  his  appearance  in  Albany,  in  1674,  there  seems, 
in  the  language  of  an  early  writer  to  have  been  "no  face  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  the  Colony  of  New  York,"  so  far  as 
its  clergy  were  concerned,  until  the  year  1697,  when  the  Rev. 
William  Vesey  was  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and 
settled  over  the  parish  of  Trinity,  New  York,  the  charter  of 
which  had  been  signed  at  the  Fort  by  Governor  Fletcher,  on 
May  6th,  1697. 

Schenectady  in  1695. 

The  first  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  to  visit  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  of  whose  visit  we  have  any  record,  was  the 
Rev.  John  Miller,  who  was  Chaplain  to  the  fort  at  New  York 
City  from  1692- 1695.  He  visited  all  the  up-river  posts,  includ- 
ing Schenectady,  and  returned  to  England  in  this  latter  year. 
His  manuscript  "Description  of  the  Province  and  City  of  New 
York,  with  plans  of  the  city  and  several  forts  as  they  existed 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  29 

in  the  year  1695,"  is  in  the  British  Museum.  His  map  of 
Schenectady  is  one  of  the  earliest  extant  after  the  burning  of 
the  town  in  1690,  by  the  French  and  Indians  from  Canada. 

After  giving  a  description  of  Albany,  he  thus  refers  to 
Schenectady,  ''Dependent  on  this  city  (Albany),  and  about 
twenty  miles  northward  from  it,  is  the  Fort  of  Scanectade 
quadrangular  with  a  treble  stockado,  with  a  new  block  house 
at  every  angle,  and  in  each  block  house  two  great  guns."  At 
this  time,  the  garrison  at  Schenectady  consisted  of  a  detach- 
ment of  about  thirty  soldiers  from  the  forces  at  Albany.  These 
occupied  the  block  houses,  and  there  were  besides  these  with- 
in the  stockade,  twenty-eight  houses  of  the  settlers,  and  two 
"long  houses"  of  the  Mohawk  Indians.  At  this  time  there 
was  no  minister  in  the  Dutch  Church,  and  it  is  quite  probable 
that  on  the  occasion  of  this  visit,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller  held  the 
first  services  of  the  Church  of  England  in  Schenectady  in 
"the  block-house  known  as  the  Church." 

Mr.  Miller's  "Description"  is  dedicated  "To  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Father  in  God,  Henry,  Lord  Bishop  of  London,"  and  is  ex- 
ceedingly valuable  for  the  light  which  it  throws  upon  the  con- 
dition of  the  Colony  at  this  time,  as  well  as  for  the  elaborate 
suggestions  which  he  offered  for  the  establishment  of  an 
American  Episcopate.  In  striking  contrast  to  the  energy  and 
zeal  which  had  been  displayed  by  the  French  in  their  labors 
to  convert  the  Iroquois,  he  places  before  us  the  indifference 
and  neglect  of  the  English  government. 

After  treating  of  various  other  evils  which  existed  in  the 
province  he  thus  refers  to  this  subject:  "The  next  thing  in  this 
province  blameable  is  the  heathenism  of  the  natural  Indians 
who  here,  in  the  very  heart  of  a  Christian  country,  practice 
their  barbarous  and  devilish  customs  and  modes  ol  worship, 
notwithstanding  it  is  now  sixty  years  and  more  since  Chris- 
tians first  inhabited  this  country,  and  thirty  years  since  the 
English  were  possessed  thereof    *     *     *   especially  when  the 


30  One  Hundred   Years  of 

Indians  are  so  inclinable  to  receive  the  Christian  faith,  as  they 
have  made  appear  they  are,  both  by  that  considerable  number 
of  the  Mohawks  whom  Dr.  Dellius  has  converted  (though  by  a 
method  not  so<  exact  and  prevalent  as  might  be  used),  and 
those  Oneidas  converted  to  Popery  by  the  Jesuit  Millet,  much 
to  the  advantage  of  the  French,"  one  of  the  Mohawks,  indeed, 
who  had  migrated  to  Canada  having  recently  said  "that  he 
had  lived  long  among  the  English,  but  they  had  never  all  that 
while  had  so  much  love  for  him  as  to  instruct  him  in  the  con- 
cerns of  his  soul,  and  show  him;  the  way  of  salvation,  which 
the  French  had  done  upon  their  first  acquaintance  with  him." 

As  a  remedy  for  the  evils  which  he  had  enumerated,  he 
offers  the  following  suggestion,  "The  great,  most  proper,  and 
as  I  conceive  effectual,  means  to  remedy  and  prevent  all  the 
disorders  I  have  already  mentioned,  and  promote  the  settle- 
ment and  improvement  of  religion  and  unity,  both  among  the 
English  subjects  that  are  already  Christians,  and  the  Indians 
supposed  to  be  made  so>,  is  that  his  Majesty  will  graciously 
please  to  send  over  a  Bishop  to  the  province  of  New  York." 
Among  other  details  of  this  suggestion,  in  order  to  provide 
for  his  support,  he  recommends  that  the  Bishop  should  be  re- 
garded as  a  suffragan  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  that  he 
should  have  affixed  to-  his  ecclesiastical  office,  that  of  the 
Governor  of  the  Province. 

Mr.  Miller  thus  places  himself  on  record  as  among  the  first 
of  that  long  list  of  special  pleaders  for  an  American  Episcopate, 
whose  earnest  pleas  were  not  to  be  granted  by  the  officials  of 
Church  and  State,  until  nearly  a  century  had  elapsed. 

About  six  years  after  Mr.  Miller's  return  to  England,  there 
was  organized  in  London,  largely  through  the  efforts  and  rep- 
resentations of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Bray,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed as  Ecclesiastical  Commissary  for  Maryland,  by  the 
Bishop  of  London,  in  1696,  a  society  which  was  destined,  un- 
der Almighty  God,  to  exert  a  powerful  and  permanent  influ- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  31 

ence  upon  the  religious  history  of  the  North  American  Colo- 
nies, and  of  this  Mohawk  Valley  in  particular.  I  refer  to  the 
"Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts," 
more  familiarly  known  to  us  as  "The  S.  P.  G." 

At  a  missionary  meeting  in  London,  in  1878,  in  connection 
with  the  assembling  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Anglican  Commun- 
ion at  the  Lambeth  Conference,  Bishop  Littlejohn,  of  Long 
Island,  could  truthfully  say,  without  any  exaggeration,  that 
"Per  nearly  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century  this  Society 
•furnished)  the  only  point  of  contact,  the  only  bond  of  sym- 
pathy, between  the  Church  of  England  and  her  children  scat- 
tered over  the  waste  places  of  the  New  Worid.  The  Church 
herself,  as  all  of  us  now  remember  with  sorrow,  was  not  only 
indifferent  to  their  wants,  but,  under  a  malign  State  influence, 
was  positively  hostile  to  the  adoption  of  all  practical  measures 
calculated  to  meet  them."  As  another  undesigned  co-inci- 
dence in  connection  with  this  present  anniversary,  it  may  be 
stated  that  the  charter  of  this  venerable  Society  bears  the  date 
of  June  idth,  1701. 

Church  Services  in  Schenectady. 

In  the  Rev.  John  Miller's  "Description  of  the  Province  and 
City  of  New  York,"  to  which  we  have  previously  referred,  he 
recommends  that  a  Chaplain  should  be  allowed  "to  the  sol- 
diers at  Albany  in  particular  (to*  be  paid  out  of  the  advance  of 
their  pay),  who  are  lately  gone  over,  and  to  be  sometimes 
changed  with  him  at  New  York,"  and  in  1708  we  find  that  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Barclay  occupied  that  position.  In  1709  he  was 
appointed  a  Missionary  of  the  S.  P.  G.,  and  officiated  at  Schen- 
ectady, and  occasionally  for  the  Mohawk  Indians,  at  their  set- 
tlement at  Fort  Hunter. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel,  under  date  of  September  26th,  1710,  he 
thus  refers  to  his  work  at  Schenectady: 


3  2  One  Hundred  Years  of 

"At  Schenectady,  I  preach  once  a  month,  where  there  is  a 
garrison  of  forty  soldiers,  besides  about  sixteen  English,  and 
about  one  hundred  Dutch  families;  they  are  all  of  them  my 
constant  hearers.  I  have  this  summer  got  an  English  school 
erected  amongst  them,,  and  in  a  short  time  I  hope  their  chil- 
dren will  be  fit  for  catechising. 

Schenectady  is  a  village  situated  on  a  pleasant  river  twenty 
English  miles  above  Albany,  and  the  first  castle  of  the  Indians 
is  twenty-four  miles  above  Schenectady. 

In  this  village  there  has  been  no  Dutch  minister  these  five 
years,  and  there  is  no  probability  of  any  being-  settled  among 
them.  There  is  a  convenient  and  well-built  Church  which 
they  freely  give  me  the  use  of.  I  have  taken  pains  to  show 
them  the  agreement  of  the  articles  of  our  Church  with  theirs,  I 
hope  in  some  time  to  bring  them  not  only  to  be  constant  hear- 
ers, but  communicants." 

Of  the  Rev.  Barnardus  Freeman,  who  had  served  the  Dutch 
Congregation  in  Schenectady  from  1700- 1705,  he  thus  writes: 
"This  Mr.  Freeman  five  years  ago  was  minister  at  Schenec- 
tady, and  converted  several  of  the  Indians;  he  has  acquired 
more  skill  in  their  language  than  any  Dutch  minister  that  has 
been  ui  ihis  country,  and  a  great  part  of  our  liturgy 
he  has  translated  into  the  Indian  tongue,  m  particular  morn- 
ing and  evening  prayer,  the  litany,  the  cieed  of  S.  Athanasins, 
&c,  besides  several  places  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
Fie  told  me  when  he  read  to  them  the  litany,  they  were  mighc- 
ily  affected  with  it.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  a  good,  temper,  and 
well  affected  to  our  Church,  and  if  there  were  a  Bishop  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  would  be  persuaded  to  take  Episcopal  or- 
dination. I  often  entreat  him  to  go  over  to  England,  but  he 
is  afraid  of  the  danger  of  the  voyage,  and  his  wife  will  not  con- 
sent to  live  among  the  Indians;  he  has  promised  to  give  me 
his  manuscripts,  and  what  he  has  done  into  the  Indian 
tongue."     These  manuscripts  appear  to  have  been  presented 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  33 

to  the  Society,  and  were  given  to  their  missionary,  the  Rev. 
William  Andrews,  who  was  sent  out  in  17 12,  and  were  by  him 
printed  in  New  York  in  1714.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Barclay  must 
have  been  very  popular  among-  the  residents  of  Schenectady, 
for  towards  the  erection  of  the  first  edifice  of  S.  Peter's,  Al- 
bany, in  1 7 16,  he  informs  the  Society  that  "every  inhabitant  of 
Schenectady  gave  something,  one  very  poor  man  excepted." 

Stated  services  were  undoubtedly  continued  in  Schenectady 
by  the  two  immediate  successors  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bar- 
clay, at  S.  Peter's,  Albany,  the  Rev.  John  Miln,  1728-1737, 
and  the  Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  1737- 1746,  but  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  any  mention  on  the  records  of  the  parish  of  their 
visits  or  acts.  The  former  of  the  two  was  transferred  to  New 
Jersey,  and  the  latter  became  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New 
York  City.  In  an  historical  sermon  preached  by  my  pre- 
decessor in  the  Rectorship  of  S.  George's,  the  Rev.  William 
Payne,  D.  D.,  he  thus  describes  the  parish  at  this  time:  "In 
1748  the  Rev.  John  Ogilvie  came  to  Albany  as  rector  of  S. 
Peter's.  And  the  same  year  there  arrived  in  Schenectady  a 
layman,  who,  from  the  love  he  bore  to  the  principles  and 
usages  of  the  English  Church,  and  the  zeal  he  showed  in  pro- 
moting them,  has  been  called  the  father  of  this  parish.  I  refer 
to  Mr.  John  W.  Brown,  whose  memory  is  appropriately  pre- 
served by  a  tablet  on  these  walls.  He  is  said  to  have  come 
from  London,  and  was  only  twenty-one  years  old  at  the  time 
of  his  arrival  here.  Through  a  long  life,  till  the  day  of  his 
death  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven,  he  was  the  steady  friend, 
and  unwavering  supporter  of  this  Church.  The  earliest 
baptism,  by  an  Episcopal  minister  on  our  parish  register  is 
that  of  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Brown,  in  1754,  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Ogilvie."  In  this  connection,  it  is  an  interesting  fact  to  note, 
that  with  the  exception  of  an  interval  of  ten  years,  a  period  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  the  parochial  history  of  S. 
George's  is  covered  by  the  lives  of  two  of  its  parishioners.    Mr. 


34  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Brown  was  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  parish  from 
1748-18 14.  Mr.  Abrani  A.  Van  Vorst,  at  present  one  of  the 
Wardens  of  the  parish,  came  to  Schenectady  in  1824,  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Vestry  in  1836,  and  has  served  con- 
tinuously in  that  body  ever  since. 

It  was  during  the  ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ogilvie,  in 
1759,  that  the  erection  of  the  present  Church  edifice  seems  to 
have  been  undertaken,  but  it  was  not  fully  completed  for 
several  years.  Among  other  items  of  disbursement,  the  parish 
records  contain  the  following  entry  in  the  above  year:  "To 
Richard  Oldrich  and  Horsford,  for  digging  the  foundation  of 
the  Church,  £4  3s.  gd."  Various  entries  for  "laying  up  stone/' 
"siding,"  and  "squaring  timber,"  wages  for  laborers,  &c,  ap- 
pear in  the  treasurer's  book  from  this  date  onward.  The  car- 
pentry work  of  the  Church  was  done  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  Samuel  Fuller,  who  was  subsequently  the  builder  of 
Johnson  Hall,  the  home  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  at  Johns- 
town. He  was  master  of  the  King's  artificers,  and  came  to 
Schenectady  from  Needham,  Mass.,  with  General  Abercrom- 
bie's  army. 

Among  the  contributors  towards  the  building  appear  the 
names  of  Sir  Harry  Moore,  Governor  of  New  York;  William 
Penn,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania;  Governor  Franklin  of  New 
Jersey;  William  Alexander,  Earl  of  Sterling;  and  Sir  William 
Johnson,  General  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  in  North 
America.  The  Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  at  this  time  rector  of 
Trinity,  New  York,  continued  to  evince  an  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  parish  to  which  he  had  ministered  while  rec- 
tor of  S.  Peter's,  Albany,  and  collected  about  £61  from  some 
of  his  New  York  friends.  It  is  a  somewhat  curious  fact  that 
the  Church  was  not  consecrated  until  nearly  one  hundred 
years  later,  by  Bishop  Horatio  Potter,  in  1859. 

At  the  time  of  its  erection,  there  was  of  course  no  Bishop 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  35 

in  America  to  perform  such  an  office,  and  later  on  this  defect 
seems  to  have  been  overlooked. 

The  present  edifice  lias,  however,  enjoyed,  as  a  sort  of  com- 
pensation for  this  omission,  the  unique  privilege  of  having  had 
within  its  walls,  at  one  time  or  another,  every  Bishop  of  our 
Communion  who  has  been  located  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
except  your  own  reverend  and  beloved  Diocesan,  the  Bishop 
of  Central  New  York,  and  the  present  Bishop  of  Western  New 
York,  and  we  hope  soon,  to  be  able  to  report  that  these  are 
no  longer  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  The  Rev.  Thomas 
Brown,  who  succeeded  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ogilvie  at  S.  Peter's,  Al- 
bany, and  the  Rev.  Harvy  Minro  who  succeeded  him,  minis- 
tered to  the  parish  frequently  from  1 764- 1 770.  In  this  latter 
year,  on  the  recommendation  of  Sir  William  Johnson  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Auchmuty,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New 
York,  die  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Gospel,  appointed 
the  Rev.  William  Andrews  as  their  missionary  at  Schenectady. 
He  was  a  native  of  Great  Britain,  but  had  resided  for  some 
years  in  America.  He  returned  home  and  was  ordained  by 
the  Bishop  of  London.  There  is  in  the  possession  of  the  rec- 
tor of  S.  George's,  a  quaint  old  vestry  bond,  duly  executed  on 
December  7th,  1769,  wherein  the  vestry  of  the  parish  are  "held 
and  firmly  bound  unto  William  Andrews,  in  the  sum  of  sixty 
pounds,  current  money  of  New  York,  *  *  *  to  be  paid  in 
four  quarterly  payments  after  he  became  residentiary  clergy- 
man in  the  Town  of  Schenectady."  Mr.  Andrews  opened  a 
Latin  school  in  1771,  but  the  labor  attendant  on  this  and  his 
parochial  duties  affected  his  health,  and  in  1773  he  resigned 
his  charge  and  removed  to  Williamsburg,  Va. 

A  glimpse  of  the  condition  of  the  parish  at  this  time  is  ob- 
tained from  a  letter  written  by  the  Wardens  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Burton,  Secretary  of  the  S.  P.  G.  They  complain  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  pledging  a  fixed  salary  for  their  rector,  owing  as  they 
say,  "To  the  absence  of  many  of  the  congregation  (which  must 


36  One  Hundred  Years  of 

make  the  contributions  casual  and  uncertain),  who  are  Indian 
traders  over  the  great  lakes,  and  do  not  always  return  within 
the  year." 

Mr.  Andrews  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Doty,  a 
native  of  Westchester,  and  an  alumnus  of  King's  (now  Colum- 
bia) College.  He  was  the  missionary  to  S.  George's  from 
1774-1777.  It  was  now  the  eve  of  the  Revolution,  and  like 
many  of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  he  suffered  between  a 
sense  of  duty  and  the  pressure  of  the  times.  He  did  not  con- 
sider that  his  ordination  vows  allowed  him  to  disuse  the  litur- 
gy, with  the  Prayer  for  the  King  and  the  royal  family.  After 
having  been  made  twice  a  prisoner,  "he  found  it  necessary 
to  retire  with  his  family  to  Canada,  and  divine  service  was 
suspended  in  the  Church  during  the  remainder  of  the  war. 
When  the  independence  of  the  Colonies  was  established,  and 
peace  declared  in  1782,  the  members  of  the  congregation 
which  Mr.  Doty  had  felt  compelled  to  abandon,  were  almost 
entirely  scattered. 

From  1 785- 1 792  the  names  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison, 
rector  of  S.  Peter's  Albany,  the  Rev.  George  Ogilvie,  of  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  the  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Oliver,  of  the  united 
churches  at  Johnstown  and  Fort  Hunter,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Barber,  appear  on  the  parish  register.  In  1790  the  parish 
was  admitted  into  union  with  the  Convention  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  At  the 
Convention  held  in  October,  1792,  Bishop  Provoost  states  that 
during  the  year  he  had  ordained,  with  four  others,  Mr.  Ammi 
Rogers,  who  was  now  settled  in  the  State,  and  at  the  same 
Convention  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rogers  from  Schenectady  appeared 
and  took  his  seat.  Mr.  Rogers  continued  his  ministrations 
in  the  parish  from  July,  1792  to  March,  1795.  In  1793  and 
1794  he  appears  on  the  Convention  Journal  as  rector  of  S. 
George's,  Schenectady,  and  Christ  Church,  Ballston.  In  1796 
he  appears  as  representing  only  Christ  Church,  Ballston.     In 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  37 

1798  the  Rev.  Robert  G.  Wetmore,  of  whom  we  have  spoken 
in  the  early  part  of  this  paper,  became  rector,  in  connection 
with  Christ  Church,  Duanesburgh,  and  from  this  time  the 
affairs  of  the  parish  were  conducted  with  increasing  success. 
Mr.  Wetmore  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  Bishop  Pro- 
voost  on  May  10th,  1798,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Rev.  Phil- 
ander Chase  was  ordained  deacon.  He  resigned  in  1801,  and 
from  this  date  to  1805,  when  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Stebbins  became 
rector,  stated  services  were  maintained  by  visiting  clergymen, 
among  whom  we  find  the  name  of  Ammi  Rogers,  Samuel 
Lilly,  Davenport  Phelps,  Jonathan  Judd  and  Gamaliel 
Thatcher.  The  Committee  for  propagating  the  gospel  in  the 
State  of  New  York  reports  to  the  Convention  of  1804,  that 
this  latter  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thatcher,  organized  a 
Church  at  Utica,  by  the  name  of  Trinity  Church,  in  August  of 
that  year.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Stebbins  resigned  in  1819,  and  re- 
moved to  Hudson,  N.  Y.  The  parish  register  during  his  rec- 
torship, contains  the  baptism,  as  an  adult,  of  Thomas  Church 
Brownell,  the  future  Bishop  of  Connecticut.  Bishop  Brownell 
was  formerly  a  Presbyterian.  He  was  Professor  of  Logic  and 
Belles-Letters,  and  latter  on,  of  Rhetoric  and  Chemistry,  in 
Union  College. 

Bishop  Clark,  of  Rhode  Island,  in  his  "Reminiscences"  thus 
refers  to  this  period  of  his  Bishop's  earlier  life:  "His  wife  used 
to  tell  me  how  they  would  start  off  together  on  Sunday  morn- 
ings, and  walk  on  until  they  reached  a  certain  corner,  where 
they  would  separate,  and  he  go  one  way  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  while  she  wended  her  solitary  walk  to  the  Episcopal. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  followed  in  her  footsteps, 
as  any  one  might  have  predicted  who  knew  Mrs.  Brownell — a 
most  attractive  and  winning  woman,  and  as  full  of  quaint  and 
quiet  humor  as  she  was  of  goodness." 

His  promotion  in  the  Church  was  somewhat  meteoric  in  re- 
ference to  its  rapidity,  although  not  in  the  permanency  of  its 


38  One  Hundred  Years  of 

influence,  for  his  light  shone  for  forty-six  years  in  the  Epis- 
copate of  Connecticut.  Baptized  in  1813,  ordained  deacon  on 
April  nth,  1816,  advanced  to  the  priesthood  on  August  4th  of 
that  same  year,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Connecticut  on 
October  27th,  1819.  When  Bishop  Jarvis,  his  immediate  pre- 
decessor in  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut  died,  Bishop  Brownell 
had  not  yet  been  baptized. 

For  a  short  time  after  Dr.  Stebbins'  resignation  the  services 
were  maintained  by  Mr.  Alonzo  Potter,  as  Lay  Reader.  He 
was  then  an  Instructor  in  Union  College,  and  afterwards  the 
Bishop  of  Pennsylvania. 

On  the  minutes  of  the  Vestry,  there  appears  at  this  time  a 
resolution  "fixing  the  salary  to  be  paid  to  Mr.  Alonzo  Potter 
at  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  annum  while  he  reads  in 
the  desk,  and  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum  when  he  shall 
be  in  Holy  Orders  to  preach  in  the  Church  for  the  congrega- 
tion." 

In  1 82 1,  the  Rev.  P.  Alexis  Proal,  of  Johnstown,  became 
rector,  and  served  most  efficiently  in  that  capacity  until  May, 
1836,  when  he  became  rector  of  Trinity,  Utica.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  turn  by  the  Rev.  Albert  Smedes,  Rev.  W.  H.  Wal- 
ter, and  the  Rev.  John  Williams,  at  present  the  learned  and 
venerable  Bishop  of  Connecticut,  and  Primus  of  the  Ameri- 
can Church.  S.  George's  was  really  the  only  parish  of  Bishop 
Williams,  as  he  left  Schenectady  in  1848  to  accept  the  Presi- 
dency of  Trinity  College,  from  which  position  he  was  called 
to  be  the  Assistant  Bishop  of  Connecticut. 

"Old  S.  George's"  has  been  a  veritable  training  school  of 
the  clergy,  no  less  than  seven  Bishops  and  sixty-five  other 
clergymen  having  been  connected  with  it,  in  one  way  or  an- 
other, since  its  organization.  Among  the  former  we  note  the 
names  of  Thomas  C.  Brownell,  Alonzo  Potter,  John  Williams, 
Abram  N.  Littlejohn,  George  Upfold,  Henry  C.  Potter  and 
Joseph  H.  Johnson.    The  Rev.  William  Payne  took  charge  of 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  39 

the  parish  in  1848,  and  after  a  long  and  useful  rectorate  of 
thirty-six  years,  became  Rector-emeritus  in  1884,  when  the 
present  rector  was  called  from  S.  Luke's  Church,  Scranton, 
Pa.  Eh-.  Payne  resided  in  the  parish  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  on  March  19th,  1891.  Thus  ended  a  mutual  rela- 
tionship of  forty-two  years,  honorable  alike  to  both  priest  and 
people. 

The  Mohawk  Mission. 

As  we  have  already  observed  in  the  earlier  pages  of  this  ar- 
ticle, the  labors  of  the  Jesuits  among  the  Iroquois  of  the  Mo- 
hawk Valley  ceased  in  1684.  From  that  year  to  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  spasmodic  efforts  to  Christianize  the 
Mohawks  were  undertaken  by  individual  Dutch  ministers,  but 
as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller  pointed  out  to  the  Bishop  of  London  in 
1695,  as  previously  quoted,  nothing  had  been  done  up  to  that 
time  on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Speaking  in  the  name  of  the  rest  of  the  Sachems  of  the 
"Praying  Indians"  of  Canada,  one  of  their  chiefs  thus  ad- 
dressed the  Government  Commissioners  at  Albany,  in  1700: 

"We  are  now  come  to  trade  and  not  to  speak  of  religion; 
only  thus  much  I  must  say,  all  the  while  I  was  here  before  I 
went  to  Canada,  I  never  heard  anything  talked  of  religion,  or 
the  least  mention  made  of  converting  us  to  the  Christian  faith; 
and  we  shall  be  glad  to  hear  if  at  last  you  are  so  piously  in- 
clined to  take  some  pains  to  instruct  your  Indians  in  the 
Christian  Religion." 

Moved  by  this  and  other  representations  received  from  the 
Earl  of  Bellemont  (Governor  of  New  York),  the  "Commis- 
sioners of  Trade  and  Plantations"  addressed  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  Queen  Anne  on  this  subject,  and  in  1703,  an 
order  in  Council  was  passed,  referring  the  matter  of  appoint- 
ing two  missionaries  to  dwell  among  the  Indians,  to  Archbish- 
op Tenison. 


4°  One  Hundred  Years  of 

In  the  preceding  year,  the  Rev.  John  Taibot,  who  in  com- 
pany with  the  Rev.  George  Keith  (the  first  missionary  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel),  had  visited  the 
Indians  at  Albany,  reported  that  "even  the  Indians  them- 
selves have  promised  obedience  to  the  faith,"  and  that  "they 
were  glad  to  hear  that  the  sun  shined  in  England  again  since 
King  William's  death."  They  rejoiced  that  they  had  now  "a 
squaw  sachem"  or  "woman  king,"  but  hoped  she  would  "be  a 
good  mother,  and  send  them  some  to  teach  them,  religion,  and 
establish  traffic  amongst  them."  It  was  not  however,  until 
1704  that  the  Rev.  Thoroughgood  Moor,  "with  a  firm  courage 
and  resolution  to  answer  the  excellent  designs  of  the  Society" 
undertook  the  Mission.  Soon  after  Mr.  Moor's  arrival  in  Al- 
bany two  Indians  came  to  see  him,  one  of  whom  spoke  as 
follows : 

"Father  we  are  come  to  express  our  joy  at  your  safe  arrival 
and  that  you  have  escapt  the  dangers  of  a  dreadful  sea,  which 
you  have  crost,  I  hear,  to  instruct  us  in  religion.  It  only 
grieves  us  that  you  are  come  in  time  of  war,  when  it  is  uncer- 
tain whether  you  will  live  or  die  with  us."  This  latter  an- 
nouncement was  not,  it  must  be  confessed,  very  encouraging, 
and  although  Mr.  Moor  was  from  time  to  time  courteously 
received  at  their  settlement,  it  soon  became  evident  that  his 
mission  was  not  going  to  prove  very  fruitful,  and  after  waiting 
at  Albany  for  about  a  year,  he  finally  withdrew  to  Burlington, 
N.  J.  In  1709  the  Rev.  Thomas  Barclay,  Chaplain  to  the  Fort 
at  Albany,  was  appointed  a  missionary  of  the  S.  P.  G.,  with  a 
direction  "to  instruct  the  neighboring  Indians."  They  ac- 
cepted his  ministry,  and  he  soon  had  fifty  adherents.  Soon 
after  Mr.  Barclay's  appointment,  four  of  the  Iroquois  sachems 
visited  England,  and  expressed  to  the  Queen  and  other 
prominent  persons  their  earnest  desire  for  resident  Mission- 
aries. In  consequence  of  their  representations,  the  S.  P.  G.  on 
April  28th,  1710,  adopted  a  resolution  "to  send  itinerant  mis- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  41 

sionaries  to  preach  the  gospel  amongst  the  Six  Nations  of  the 
Indians,  according  to  the  primary  intentions  of  the  late  King 
William  of  glorious  memory."  It  was  further  "Ordered  that 
4  copies  of  the  Bible  in  quarto  with  the  Prayer  Book  bound 
handsomely  in  red  Turkey  leather  be  presented  in  the  name  of 
the  Society  to  the  Sachems." 

The  Queen  was  also  urged  to  take  measures  for  the  speedy 
appointment  of  a  Bishop  for  America. 

The  Sachems  wrote  before  and  after  their  return  home  to 
remind  the  Society  of  its  promise  to  send  missionaries.  "For 
the  safety  and  conveniency  of  the  mission,"  the  Queen  or- 
dered the  erection  of  a  fort,  a  house,  and  a  chapel.  Towards 
the  furnishing  of  this  latter  and  of  another,  among  the  Onon- 
dagas  (which,  however,  was  not  built),  the  Queen  gave  among 
other  things  a  set  of  Plate  for  the  Holy  Communion,  and  the 
Archbishop  presented  twelve  large  octavo  Bibles,  with  tables 
containing  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed  and  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments. The  Society  also  contributed  "a  table  of  their 
seal  finely  painted  in  proper  colors,  to  be  fixed  likewise  in  the 
Chapel  of  the  Mohawks."  This  seal  represents  "a  ship  under 
sail,  making  towards  a  point  of  land;  upon  the  prow  standing 
a  minister  with  an  open  Bible  in  his  hand;  people  standing 
on  the  shore  in  a  posture  of  expectation,  and  using  these 
words,  Transicns  AdJHVQ  Nos." 

The  silver  communion  set,  sent  by  Queen  Anne  for  the  Mo- 
hawks, was  used  by  them  at  Fort  Hunter,  until  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  when  it  was  placed  in  a  cask  and  buried  with  some 
other  fixtures  of  the  Chapel  in  the  vicinity.  Some  time  after  the 
war,  it  was  recovered  by  members  of  the  tribe  who  had  been 
sent  back  for  it  from  the  Mohawk  reservation  at  Brantford, 
Ontario,  Canada.    It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Hooper,  of  Durham,  Conn.,  to  whom  I 
am  under  obligations  for  several  valuable  suggestions  during 


42  One  Hundred  Years  of 

the  preparation  of  this  paper,  thus  writes  of  the  duplicate  set 
sent  by  Queen  Anne  for  the  use  of  the  Onondagas:  "The 
Queen  Anne  silver  of  S.  Peter's,  Albany,  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  Mohawk's,  but  was  intended  for  a  Chapel  of  the  Onon- 
dagas, which  was  never  built.  It  was  kept  in  Albany,  as  S. 
Peter's  was  the  Indian  Chapel  for  all  other  New  York  Indians 
excepting  the  Mohawks,  in  trust,  and  is  now  its  most  valued 
possession.  While  New  York  was  a  royal  province,  a  receipt 
for  it  was  exacted  from  the  Warden  of  the  Church  by  each 
Royal  Governor." 

Fort  Hunter,  containing  the  historic  edifice  known  as 
Queen  Anne's  Chapel,  was  built  by  residents  of  Schenectady. 
The  Chapel  was  opened  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Barclay,  on  Oc- 
tober 5th,  1712,  the  sermon  being  preached  from  the  text  in 
S.  Matthew  xxi.  13,  "It  is  written,  my  house  shall  be  called 
'the  house  of  prayer;  but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of  thieves." 
This  subject  was  selected  at  the  particular  request  of  the 
sachems,  it  being  their  desire  that  he  should  "preach  against 
the  profanation  of  their  Chapel,  some  being  so  impious  as  to 
make  a  slaughter-house  of  it."  The  Rev.  William  Andrews, 
who  possessed  colonial  experience  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
Indian  language,  was  selected  by  the  Archbishop  for  the  Mis- 
sion, and  was  received  with  considerable  satisfaction  by  the 
Mohawks,  in  November,  171 2.  The  Indians  built  a  school- 
house,  but  were  unwilling  that  their  children  should  be  taught 
any  other  than  their  own  language,  "for  it  had  been  observed 
that  those  who  understood  English  or  Dutch  were  generally 
the  worst  people."  With  the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  Barnardus 
Freeman,  formerly  the  Dutch  minister  at  Schenectady,  as 
mentioned  heretofore  in  this  paper,  school  books  and  portions 
of  the  Bible  and  the  Prayer  Book  were  provided  in  the  Mo- 
hawk language,  and  for  a  time  there  was  considerable  progress 
made,  Mr.  Andrews  baptizing  fifty-one  Indians  within  six 
months,  and  having  eighteen  communicants. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  43 

But  the  traders  hindered  the  mission  by  "their  ill  practices 
in  bringing  too  much  rum  among  these  poor  people,"  and  "in 
cheating  them  abominably  in  the  way  of  traffic. "  The  work 
was  suspended  from  1719-1727,  when  the  Society  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Gospel  appointed  the  Rev.  John  Miln,  to  Al- 
bany. The  Indians  at  Fort  Hunter,  who  formed  part  of  his 
charge,  received  him  "with  much  respect  and  civility,"  and  he 
found  them  "very  well  disposed  to  receive  the  gospel,"  some 
having  been  "pretty  well  instructed  in  the  grounds  of  Chris- 
tianity by  Mr.  Andrews." 

In  April,  1735,  Mr.  Henry  Barclay,  son  of  the  second  mis- 
sionary to  the  Indians,  was  appointed  Catechist  at  Fort  Hun- 
ter. In  1738  he  went  to  England  for  ordination,  and  soon 
after  his  return  to  America,  he  reported  "That  there  grew  a 
daily  reformation  of  manners  among  the  Mohawks,  and  an  in- 
crease of  virtue  proportionable  to  their  knowledge;  inasmuch 
that  they  compose  a  regular,  sober  congregation  of  500  Chris- 
tian Indians,  of  whom  50  are  very  serious  communicants."  In 
1745  the  French  nearly  succeeded  in  closing  the  Mission. 
Their  Indian  emissaries  excited  the  Mohawks  against  the 
English,  and  for  a  short  while  it  looked  as  though  their  alle- 
giance was  to  be  transferred  to  the  French  King.  Their  loyal- 
ty to  the  English,  however,  soon  revived,  never  again  to  be 
shaken.  Mr.  Barclay  was  transferred  to  New  York  in  1746, 
but  the  Indian  Mission  was  continued  by  a  succession  of  able 
clergymen,  a  number  of  whom  were  rectors  of  S.  Peter's,  Al- 
bany. Rev.  Messrs.  John  Ogilvie,  J.  J.  Del,  Thomas  Brown, 
Harry  Minro  and  John  Stuart  ministered  to  the  Mohawks 
from  1 749- 1 778,  besides  lay  teachers,  English  and  native. 
Among  the  latter  was  a  sachem  named  Abraham,  "who  being 
past  war  and  hunting  read  prayers  at  the  several  Mohawk 
Castles  by  turns." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Ogilvie,  in  1756,  informs  the  S.  P.  G.  that 
"many  of  the  Mohawks  of  both  castles  appear  to  have  a  se- 


44  One  Hundred  Years  of 

rious  and  habitual  sense  of  religion.  When  at  home  they 
regularly  attend  divine  worship,  and  are  frequent  communi- 
cants at  the  Lord's  Supper;  and  even  while  out  upon  the  hunt, 
several  of  them  came  sixty  miles  to  commune  on  Christ- 
mas day.  "In  1760  Mr.  Ogilvie  complains  that  the  only  lead- 
ing man  of  the  colony  who  rendered  him  any  active  assist- 
ance in  his  mission  was  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  makes  some 
pointed  references  to  the  coldness  and  indifference  of  the  home 
authorities  in  contrast  to  the  zeal  and  liberality  of  the  French 
Romanists. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  refer  briefly,  at  this  point  of 
our  history,  to  the  immense  influence  wielded  by  Sir  William 
Johnson  over  the  members  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy,  and 
to  the  valuable  assistance  which  he  rendered  to  the  clergy  of 
the  Church  who  were  settled  in  this  vicinity  during  his  resi- 
dence here. 

He  came  to  America  and  settled  in  the  Mohawk  Valley  in 
1738.  He  soon  became  known  to  the  Indians  as  a  friend  and 
an  honest  trader.  His  simple  and  masterly  plan  was  "never 
to  cheat,  lie  or  deceive,  and  never  to  grant  what  he  had  once 
refused."  He  refused  to*  gain  a  temporary  advantage  by  a 
sacrifice  of  principle,  and  his  word,  even  as  a  young  man,  be- 
came bond  and  law.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Clinton 
in  1746,  "Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs."  His  personal 
influence  over  the  Mohawks  (into  which  tribe  he  had  been 
adopted  and  appointed  a  chief),  and  the  other  tribes  of  the 
Iroquois,  largely  decided  the  result  of  the  French  and  English 
war  that  was  being  waged  at  this  time,  in  favor  of  England, 
and  kept  the  way  open  for  the  future  growth  and  extension  of 
the  Church  of  England  on  this  continent.  He  also  early  fore- 
saw the  necesisity  for  the  establishment  of  an  American  Epis- 
copate, and  was  anxious  to<  secure  an  endowment  for  it.  For 
this  purpose,  he  conveyed  to  the  S.  P.  G.  a  gift  of  twenty  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  about  thirty  miles  from  Schenectady,  sub- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  45 

ject  to  "His  Majesty's  grant,"  which  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  obtained,  and  on  December  10th,  1768,  he  wrote  as  fol- 
lows on  this  subject: 

"We  cannot  have  a  clergy  here  without  an  Episcopate ;  and 
this  want,  as  it  has  occasioned  many  to  embrace  other  per- 
suasions, will  oblige  greater  numbers  to  follow  their  example; 
of  which  the  dissenters  are  very  sensible,  and  by  pretended 
fears  of  an  Episcopal  power,  as  well  as  by  magnifying  their 
own  numbers,  and  lessening  ours,  give  it  all  possible  opposi- 
tion." 

Sir  William  Johnson  died  in  1774,  and  his  body  was  in- 
terred under  the  altar  of  S.  John's  Church,  Johnstown,  which 
edifice  was  burned  in  1836. 

We  resume  now  the  history  of  the  Mohawk  Mission  from 
1 770- 1 778.  On  the  recommendation  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
the  Rev.  John  Stuart  was  appointed  missionary  at  Fort  Hun- 
ter, and  arrived  at  his  destination  on  December  2nd,  1770. 
The  number  of  the  inhabitants  was  then  about  170.  On 
Christmas  Day  he  preached  at  Canajoharie,  where  the  second 
castle  of  the  Mohawks  was  situated,  and  administered  the 
Holy  Communion  to  20  Indian  converts.  He  describes  them 
as  "attending  divine  service  constantly,  and  making  the  re- 
sponses with  the  greatest  regularity  and  seeming  devotion." 
He  prepared  with  the  assistance  of  the  noted  Joseph  Brant,  a 
translation  of  the  Gospel  according  to  S.  Mark  in  the  Mohawk 
language.  In  1774  he  writes  that  their  morals  are  much  im- 
proved since  my  residence  among  them."  At  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stuart  felt  that  his  ordination  vows 
bound  him  to  loyalty  to  the  English  crown,  but  the  Indians 
were  so  strongly  attached  to  him  that  they  publicly  declared 
theat  they  would  protect  and  defend  him  so  long  as  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  among  them.  In  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  William 
White,  of  Philadelphia  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania), 
under  date  of  September  28th,  1778,  he  says:  "My  situation 


46  One  Hundred  Years  of 

is  rather  disagreeable,  being  deserted  by  almost  all  my  con- 
gregation.   There  remains  only  three  families,  the  others  hav- 
ing at  different  times,  joined  the  king's  forces.     I  have  not 
preached  within  these  last  two  years."     In  1781  he  writes  to 
the  S.  P.  G.  from  Canada,  where  he  had  gone  in  October  of 
that  year,  that  the  Mohawks  rather  than  swerve  from  their  al- 
legiance to  England,  preferred  to  abandon  their  dwellings  and 
property,  and  accordingly  went  in  a  body  to    General    Bur- 
goyne,  and  afterwards  were  to  take  shelter  in  Canada.     Mr. 
Stuart  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  American  forces,  and  con- 
fined on  parole  for  three  years  to'  the  limits  of  Schenectady, 
after  which  he  was  allowed  to   withdraw    to    Canada  on  the 
promise  of  a  suitable  exchange  being  effected.     In  his  letter 
to  the  Society  in  1781,  he  writes  that  "the  Church  at  Fort 
Hunter  was  plundered  by  the  rebels,  and  the  pulpit  cloth  taken 
away  from  the  pulpit;  it  was  afterwards  employed  as  a  tavern. 
The  succeeding  year  it  was  used,  for  a  stable,  and  now  serves 
as  a  fort."    On  his  arrival  in,  Canada,  he  immediately  repaired 
to  the  Mohawk  Village,  where  he  was  affectionately  welcomed 
by  the  members  of  his  former  Indian  flock.     Mr.  Stuart  is 
$aid  to  have  been  6  ft.  4  in.  in  height,  and  was  accordingly 
known  among  his  New  York  friends  as  "the  little  gentleman." 
The  honorable  of  "Father  of  the  Upper  Canadian  Church"  has 
been  appropriately  bestowed  upon  him;.     In  an  unpublished 
history  of    S.  Peter's  Church,   Albany,    by   the  Rev.  Joseph 
Hooper,  of  Durham,  Conn.,  he  thus  quotes  from1  the  "Notitia 
Parochilis"  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison,  rector  of  S.  Peter's, 
the  record  of  two  visits  that  he  made  to>  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Hunter:  "June  6th,  1799,  Mr.  Ellison  preached  in  the  court 
house  at  Johnstown,  the  Presbyterians  refusing  to  deliver  him 
the  key  of  S.  John's  Church.    June  8  Mr.  Ellison  preached  in 
the  forenoon  at  Fort  Hunter.    The  Church  is  in  a  wretched 
condition,  the  pulpit,  reading  desk  and  two  pews,  only  being 
left,  the  windows  being  destroyed,  the  floor  demolished,  and 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  47 

the  walls  cracked.     In  1796  the  Rev.    John    Urquhart    was 
placed  in  the  charge  of  Fort  Hunter  and  Johnstown." 

Except  on  a  few  occasions,  the  Chapel  had  not  been  used 
for  a  number  of  years  when  it  was  demolished  about  the  year 
1820  to  give  place  to  the  Erie  Canal,  and  the  stones  in  it  were 
used  in  constructing  guard-locks  near  its  site.  In  a  very  able 
and  interesting  address  delivered  in  St.  John's  Church,  Johns- 
town, on  October  15,  1897,  by  the  Rev.  F.  S.  Sill,  D.  D.,  of 
Cohoes,  he  treats,  in  a  very  clear  and  exhaustive  manner,  the 
subject  of  "Queen  Anne's  Chapel  and  the  Church  Lands  of 
Fort  Hunter."  The  recovery  of  this  property  for  the  Church 
and  the  subsequent  disposition  of  the  proceeds  from  its  sale 
occupied  the  attention  of  New  York  Churchmen  in  their 
Diocesan  Conventions  for  a  period  of  over  forty  years.  S. 
Ann's  Church,  Port  Jackson,  in  the  town  of  Florida,  which 
had  been  organized  in  1835,  an^  S.  John's  Church,  Johnstown, 
each  received  a  share  of  these  proceeds. 

St.  John's  Church,    Johnstown. 

The  settlement  of  Johnstown  was  begun  by  Sir  William 
Johnston  in  1760,  and  occasional  Church  services  were  prob- 
ably held  there  from  that  date  onward,  though  the  first  church 
was  probably  not  built  much  before  1768. 

In  1769  Mr.  William  Andrews  was  recommended  to  Sir 
William  Johnson  for  the  mission  at  Johnstown,  as  well  as  for 
the  Church  at  Schenectady,  to  which  latter  place  he  was  sub- 
sequently appointed,  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel.  The  Rev.  John  Hubbs,  a  former  Rector  of  S.  John's 
Church,  in  an  "Historical  Address"  delivered  in  1887,  to 
which  I  am  indebted  for  much  of  the  information  which  is 
here  appended  concerning  that  parish,  says  that  "From  the 
records  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  we 
learn  that  in  1770,  Sir  William  offered  a  large  tract  of  land 
to  the  Church  at  Johnstown,  if    they  could  get    the    King's 


48  One  Hundred   Years  of 

grant,  and  that  the  Society  granted  to  S.  John's  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  clergyman  £25;  but  the  name  of  the  clergyman  I 
have  not  been  able  to  find."  On  the  28th  of  February,  1771, 
Sir  William  writes  to  the  secretary  of  the  Society  that  the 
"Church  being  small  and  ill-built,"  he  was  "preparing  stone 
and  materials  for  erecting  one  much  stronger  and  larger  that 
would  accommodate  1,000  souls."  The  second  building  was 
erected  in  that  year,  but  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1836.  In  the 
early  part  of  this  same  year,  the  Rev.  John  Ogilvie  of  New 
York,  recommended  as  a  suitable  rector  for  the  new  Church, 
the  Rev.  David  Griffith,  D.  D.  But  for  some  reason  or  other, 
the  Baronet  was  strongly  prejudiced  against  Dr.  Griffith,  and 
did  not  desire  to  have  him  for  the  rector.  Dr.  Griffith  after- 
wards went  South,  and  was  elected  in  1786  as  the  first  Bishop 
pi  Virginia,  but  being  too  poor  to  take  the  journey  to  Eng- 
land, he  was  never  consecrated.  In  1772  the  Rev.  Richard 
Mosely  came  from  New  England,  and  became  the  rector  of 
the  parish.  Mr.  Mosely  seems  to<  have  had  a  trying  experience 
with  the  Puritans  at  Litchfield,  where  just  previous  to  his 
coming  to  Johnstown  he  had  been  fined  £20  by  the  Court  for 
marrying  a  couple  belonging  to  his  parish  (although  the 
banns  had  been  published,  and  the  consent  of  the  parents  ob- 
tained), because  he  could  not  show  any  other  license  to  offici- 
ate as  a  clergyman  than  what  he  had  received  from  the  Bishop 
of  London,  whose  authority  the  Court  decided  did  not  extend 
to  Connecticut,  which  was  a  chartered  government.  One  of 
the  Judges  said:  "It  is  high  time  to  put  a  stop  to  the  usur- 
pations of  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  to  let  him'  know,  that 
though  his  license  be  lawful,  and  may  empower  one  of  his 
Curates  to  marry  in  England,  yet  it  is  not  so  in  America;  and 
if  fine  would  not  curb  them  in  this  point,  imprisonment 
should."  Mr.  Mosely  was  not  very  robust  in  health,  and  he 
found  the  climate  too  severe  for  him,  and  therefore  resigned 
in  the  early  part  of  1774,  and  returned  to  England  the  follow- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  49 

ing  spring.  He  was  probably  the  first  clergyman  that  was 
regularly  settled  at  Johnstown.  After  his  departure,  the  Rev. 
John  Stuart,  of  Fort  Hunter,  of  whom  you  have  heard  in  con- 
nection with  the  history  of  the  Mohawk  Mission,  who  was  a 
great  friend  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  had  officiated  in  S. 
John's  before  the  rectorship  of  Mr.  Mosely,  took  charge  of  the 
services  and  officiated  in  Johnstown  in  connection  with  his 
work  at  Fort  Hunter,  until  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  These 
were  probably  the  last  services  of  the  Church  that  were  held 
in  Johnstown  for  a  number  of  years.  Sir  John  Johnson,  who 
had  come  into  the  possession  of  his  father's  property  was  a 
Tory  of  the  extreme  kind.  After  his  defeat  by  the  American 
forces  he  escaped  with  his  friends  to  Canada,  and  in  the  con- 
fusion which  ensued,  and  the  bitter  feelings  which  were  en- 
gendered, the  Church  building  and  property  passed  out  of 
the  hands  of  its  legitimate  owners.  The  estates  of  Sir  John 
Johnson  were  declared  forfeited  to  the  State  by  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1779.  Sometime  after  the  war,  probably  by  permission 
from  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture,  the  abandoned  Church 
was  opened  and  used  by  the  Presbyterians  and  Lutherans, 
and  this  continued  until  1793,  when  the  Legislature  passed  an 
act  which  granted  the  stone  Church  and  glebe,  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  Legislature,  to  the  trustees  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian congregation,  reserving  however,  the  use  of  the  Church 
for  "eight  Sundays  in  the  year  to  the  Episcopalians  and 
Lutherans,  if  required  by  any  number  of  them,  not  less  than 
ten."  This  act  was  merely  a  provisional  one,  and  gave  no 
absolute  title.  On  November  4th,  1789,  at  the  Convention  of 
the  Church  in  the  State  of  New  York,  a  letter  was  read  from 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison,  of  S.  Peter's,  Albany,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  Church  at  Johns- 
town, which  was  referred  to  the  Standing  Committee.  In 
1796  there  were  sufficient  church  people  in  Johnstown  to  form 
an  incorporated  body,  and  in  that  year  the  parish  of  S.  John's 


50  One  Hundred  Years  of 

was  duly  incorporated  according  to  the  laws  of  1784.  The 
vexed  question  of  the  church  property  was  then  more 
thoroughly  investigated,  and  a  stand  was  made  for  its  pos- 
session. The  final  result  of  these  efforts  was  not  attained  until 
1 82 1.  The  corporation  came  into  the  full  possession  of  the 
Church  in  1818,  and  in  1821  they  received  from  the  Treasurer 
of  the  State,  what  was  supposed  to  be  an  equivalent  for  the 
glebe. 

In  1797  the  services  were  resumed  by  the  Rev.  John  Ur- 
quhart, who  became  rector  in  1798,  and  resigned  in  i8oo\ 

Of  this  period  in  the  history  of  S.  John's  we  find  the  follow- 
ing mention  in  the  "Reminiscences"  of  Bishop  Chase.  "Al- 
though some  distance  out  of  his  way,  the  writer  could  not 
deny  himself  the  pleasure  of  going  to  Johnstown,  to  visit  his 
fellow-laborer  in  the  Gospel,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Urquhart.  Here 
he  had  the  pleasure  of  beholding  a  goodly  stone  Church,  with 
an  organ,  built  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  endowed  by  that 
munificent  person,  with  a  glebe  for  the  support  of  an  Episcopal 
clergyman.  The  Church  had  been  recovered  by  an  appeal  to 
the  Legislature,  sitting  in  Albany,  as  the  writer  had  witnessed 
when  a  student  for  Orders  in  that  city;  but  the  glebe  was  still 
'in  the  hands  of  those  who  had  seized  on  it  in  the  time  of  the 
war,  when  so  many  prejudices  for  political  reasons  had  been 
excited  against  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  while  the  Pres- 
byterian minister  was  maintained  in  comfort,  Mr.  Urquhart 
received  the  support  only  of  the  few  remaining  Churchmen 
whom  poverty  had  detained  in  the  place." 

Mr.  Urquhart  was  followed  successively  by  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Jonathan  Judd,  Eli  Wheeler,  Pierre  Alexis  Proal,  Parker 
Adams,  A.  C.  Treadway,  U.  M.  Wheeler  and  Joseph  Ransom, 
who  each  had  but  short  reetorates.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Judd  came 
from  Trinity,  Utica,  whither  he  had  gone  as  a  deacon  in  1804, 
as  the  first  minister-in-charge.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Proal,  after 
spending  fifteen  years  in  the  rectorate  of  S.  George's,  Schen- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  51 

ectady,  became  rector  of  Trinity,  Utica,  in  1836,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  decease.  It  was  during  Mr.  Ransom's  in- 
cumbency in  1836,  that  the  Church  edifice,  erected  by  Sir  Wil- 
liam Johnson  in  1771,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  corner- 
stone of  the  new  building  was  laid  in  the  following  April,  and 
on  October  15th  of  that  same  year  (1837)  it  was  consecrated 
by  the  Rt.  Rev.  B.  T.  Onderdonk,  Bishop  of  New  York.  The 
subsequent  history  of  the  parish  moved  along  in  quiet  chan- 
nels, and  appears  to  have  been  uneventful.  It  had  its  trials 
and  its  encouragements,  its  failures  and  its  successes.  The 
sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  consecration  of  the  present  build- 
ing, and  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-fifth  of  its  translation 
from  its  first  site  to  its  present  one  by  Sir  William  Johnson, 
were  fittingly  observed  in  the  parish  on  October  15th,  1897, 
by  appropriate  services,  including  the  benediction  of  a  hand- 
some Memorial  Cross  of  granite,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  W.  C. 
Doane,  Bishop  of  Albany.  The  present  rector  is  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Calbraith  B.  Perry. 

Before  leaving,  however,  our  consideration  of  this  historic 
spot,  we  desire  to  refer  to  one  farther  incident  in  its  expe- 
rience, which  occurred  in  1862. 

After  the  destruction  of  the  old  Church  in  1836,  the  exact 
location  of  the  grave  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  who  had  been 
buried  under  its  chancel,  was  not  known.  The  Rev.  Charles 
H.  Kellogg,  who  was  the  rector  at  that  time,  instituted  a 
search  which  resulted  in  the  finding  of  the  tomb  of  the  great 
Baronet;  and  under  his  direction  the  grave  was  repaired,  and 
the  remains  enclosed  in  a  granite  sarcophagus.  The  vestry 
appointed  a  committee  to  solicit  funds  for  the  erection  of  a 
suitable  monument  to  this  noted  man,  whom  a  recent  author 
describes  as  "One  of  the  greatest  of  the  makers  of  our  Ameri- 
ca." No  report  from  the  above  committee  ever  appears  to 
have  been  made. 


52  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Two  Rural  Centennial  Parishes. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Schenectady,  situated  about 
equal  distance  from  it,  though  in  opposite  directions,  there  are 
two  well  established  rural  parishes  that  have  celebrated  their 
centennial  anniversaries,  and  which  deserve  to  be  mentioned 
in  this  brief  survey  of  early  church  centers.  These  parishes, 
though  just  outside  of  what  may  be  strictly  considered  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  have  yet  been  closely  associated  with  the 
work  that  has  been  carried  on  in  it,  and  each  of  them  in  years 
past  have  for  a  short  period  shared  jointly  in  the  ministrations 
of  the  rector  of  S.  George's,  Schenectady. 

I  refer  to  the  parishes  of  Christ  Church,  Ballston  Spa., 
and  Christ  Church,  Duanesburgh.  The  former  shared  with 
Schenectady  in  the  rectorate  of  the  Rev.  Ammi  Rogers,  the 
latter  in  that  of  the  Rev.  Robert  P.  Wetmore. 

Christ  Church,  Ballston,  Spa. 

In  the  fourth  convention  of  the  Church  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  held  on  June  2J,  1787,  the  published  proceedings  con- 
tain the  following  item: — "A  letter  addressed  to  the  Rt.  Rev. 
the  Bishop,  by  the  congregation  at  Ballston,  requesting  to 
be  recognized  by  the  Convention,  was  read  and  approved." 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison,  whose  name  occurs  so  often  in 
this  present  narrative,  was  rector  of  S.  Peter's,  Albany,  from 
May  1,  1 787- 1 802,  in  which  year  he  died.  He  was,  in  private 
life,  a  gentleman  of  a  sociable  disposition  and  remarkable  wit, 
whose  society  was  much  courted,  for  it  is  said  of  him,  that  he 
was  "as  much  above  a  mean  action  as  an  angel  is  above  a 
calumniator."  He  was  a  devoted  pastor,  an  able  preacher,  a 
skillful  administrator,  and  an  enthusiastic  missionary.  We 
find  him  connected  more  or  less  with  all  the  parishes  in  this 
vicinity,  especially  during  vacancies  in  their  cures,  or  at  the 
first  struggles  of  their  infantile  life.  He  may  well  be  described 
as  the  "Rural  Dean  of  Northern  New  York."    At  each  of  the 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  53 

parishes  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  he  appears  to  have 
been  active  in  furthering  the  organization  of  regular  congre- 
gations. In  die  "Historical  Sermon"  of  the  Rev.  Charles 
Pelletreau,  L.  H.  D.,  rector  of  Christ  Church,  Ballston  Spa., 
preached  in  that  church  on  July  3,  1887,  he  does  not  appear 
to  have  a  record  of  any  services  that  were  held  in  that  village 
prior  to  the  time  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ellison,  but  in  the  Parish 
Register  of  S.  George's,  Schenectady  there  appear  to  have 
been  a  number  of  baptisms  administered  there  by  the  Rev. 
John  Doty,  between  the  years  of  1774  and  1777.  The  Rev. 
Ammi  Rogers  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Provoost  in  1792,  and 
his  joint  rectorship  of  the  parishes  of  Ballston  and  Schenec- 
tady date  from  the  summer  of  that  year.  His  exhibit  of  bap- 
tisms is  most  extraordinary,  the  number  in  six  years  being 
1,123.  There  is  a  current  tradition  that  he  actually  and  literal- 
ly went  out  into  the  hedges  and  highways  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel. He  is  also  reported  to  have  been  a  man  of  rare  and  per- 
suasive eloquence.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Rev. 
John  Rogers,  the  Smithfield  martyr,  whose  name  is  preserved 
in  history.  Mr.  Rogers  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Frederick 
Van  Horn,  who  previously  officiated  in  Orange  County.  In 
1805,  the  rector  of  the  parish  who  united  under  his  charge, 
Ballston,  Charlton,  Milton  and  Stillwater,  reported  to  the 
Convention  from  this  parish  sixty  communicants' — just  ten 
less  than  S.  Peter's,  Albany. 

In  1810,  with  the  exception  of  five  churches  in  and  about 
New  York  City,  this  parish  showed  a  larger  number  of  bap- 
tisms than  any  church  in  the  State,  while  in  the  matter  of  com- 
municants, it  stood  among  the  foremost. 

The  Rev.  Messrs.  Joseph  Perry,  John  Gregg,  Jr.,  William 
A.  Clark,  were  successively  in  charge  of  the  parish  until  1824, 
when  the  Rev.  Dr.  Babcock  became  rector,  and  remained  for 
upwards  of  twenty  years  at  the  helm.  The  Rev.  George  J. 
Geer  was  rector  from  1845-1852,  when  he   was    called  to  S. 


54  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Timothy's  Church,  New  York  City,  where  he  remained  until 
his  decease.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Rogers, 
Rev.  Charles  Arcy,  D.  D.,  Rev.  George  W.  Dean,  D.  D.,  and 
the  Rev.  George  Worthington,  now  Bishop  of  Nebraska,  in 
the  order  in  which  their  names  are  mentioned. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Carey  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Walter  Dela- 
field  were  the  more  immediate  predecessors  of  the  present  rec- 
tor, the  Rev.  Charles  Pelletreau,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
most  of  the  above  information. 

Christ  Church,  Duaneshurgh. 

The  parish  of  Christ  Church,  Duanesburgh,  was  probably 
organized  in  1789,  or  prior  thereto,  as  it  was  admitted  into 
union  with  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York  in 
that  year.  The  church  was  erected  about  the  same  time  by 
James  Duane,  of  New  York,  at  his  own  expense,  and  donated 
to  the  parish.  The  original  building  is  still  in  constant  use, 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  and  unchanged.  The  earliest 
record  extant  is  that  of  its  consecration  on  August  25th,  1793, 
by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Provoost,  Bishop  of  New  York, 
assisted  in  the  services  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ellison  of  S. 
Peter's,  Albany,  and  the  Rev.  Leonard  Cutting,  of  New  Berne, 
N.  C. 

Previous  to  1792  there  seems  to  have  been  no  settled  clergy- 
man here,  but  the  Rev.  David  Belden  came  as  a  deacon,  from 
Connecticut,  in  1792,  and  remained  until  1795.  He  presided 
at  a  meeting  for  the  incorporation  of  the  parish  on  March 
17th,  1795.  The  Rev.  R.  G.  Wetmore  was  rector  jointly  of 
Duanesburgh  and  Schenectady  from  1798-1801.  There  are 
no  parish  records  from  this  latter  year  to  18 17,  although  the 
Convention  Journals  of  New  York  contain  reports  of  services 
being  held  at  Duanesburgh  by  various  missionaries  and  sup- 
plies during  that  period,  among  whom  we  note  the  names  of 
the  Rev.  Cyrus  Stebbins,  Rev.  R.  Hubbard,  and  the  Rev.  T. 
C.  Brownell,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Connecticut. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  55 

From  1817  to  the  present  time  there  have  been  eleven  rec- 
tors, their  names  and  dates  being  as  follows :  Rev.  N.  F.  Bruce, 
1817-1819;  Rev.  Charles  W.  Hamilton,  1820-1822;  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Burg,  1822-1828;  Rev.  William  B.  Thomas,  1829-1842; 
Rev.  Kendrick  Metcalf,  1842- 1850;  Rev.  William  O.  Jarvis, 
1851-1859;  Rev.  Robert  T.  S.  Lowell,  D.  D.,  1859-1869;  Rev. 
George  L.  Neide,  18(59-1881;  Rev.  Henry  M.  Teller,  1881- 
1883;  Rev.  E.  A.  Hartmann,  1884-1889;  Rev.  Edward  W. 
Flower,  1889-. 

The  Hon.  James  Duane,  the  founder  of  the  parish,  and  from 
whose  estate  came  the  rectory,  glebe  and  endowment,  was  a 
member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  first  mayor  of  New 
York  City,  and  first  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court,  ap- 
pointed by  President  Washington.  He  was  also  a  vestryman 
and  warden  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  from  1772- 1794. 
He  died  in  1797,  and  is  buried  under  the  church. 

General  William  North,  one  of  the  wardens  of  the  church 
in  1795,  was  an  Aid-de-Camp  to  General  Washington  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.-  He  also  is  buried  under  this  venerable 
structure,  the  interior  of  which  still  preserves  its  original  ar- 
rangement. It  has  a  high  pulpit,  with  hanging  sounding 
board  and  a  long  reading  desk  just  below  and  in  front.  There 
are  galleries  on  three  sides,  and  the  altar  is  railed  off  at  one 
side  of  the  pulpit  and  desk  which  occupy  the  center. 

Having  now  covered,  though  imperfectly,  the  field  which 
has  been  allotted  to  me  by  my  reverend  brother,  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  merit  your  gratitude  by  bringing  these  extended 
observations  to  a  speedy  conclusion. 

A  Brief  Retrospect. 

Looking  backward  to  the  period  immediately  preceding  the 
visit  of  the  Rev.  John  Miller  to  Schenectady,  mentioned  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  paper,  we  find  that  the  Bishop  of  London, 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Henry  Compton,  to  whom  Mr.  Miller  dedicates 
his  "Description  of  the  Province  and  City  of  New  York,"  re- 


56  One  Hundred  Years  of 

ports  in  1675  that  there  were  "scarce  four  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  all  the  vast  tract  of  America,  and  not 
above  one  or  two  of  them,  at  most,  regularly  sent  over." 

In  1710,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Barclay,  of  Albany,  in  the  same 
letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel,  in  which  he  refers  to  conducting  services  at  Schen- 
ectady, also  states  that  "from  New  York  to  the  utmost  bounds 
of  my  parish  there  is  no  minister  but  myself."  And  even  as 
late  as  1798,  when  this  parish  of  Trinity,  Utica,  was  first  or- 
ganized, the  Rev.  Philander  Chase  informs  us  in  his  "Remin- 
iscences" that  there  were  not  more  than  seven  clergymen  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  of  New  York,  north  of  the 
Highlands. 

At  the  present  time,  in  this  year  of  our  Lord,  1898,  in 
Oneida  County  alone,  of  which  Utica  is  the  County  seat,  there 
are  19  clergymen,  4,212  communicants,  2,025  teachers  and 
scholars  in  the  Sunday  School,  with  church  property  valued  at 
$503,151.00;  there  are  canonically  resident  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  5  Bishops,  925  other  clergymen,  145  postulants  and  can- 
didates for  Orders,  175  lay  readers,  156,000  communicants, 
and  105,000  teachers  and  scholars  in  the  Sunday  Schools; 
while  connected  with  our  American  Church  and  owing  alle- 
giance to  it,  there  are  84  Bishops,  nearly  5,000  other  clergy- 
men, 900  postulants  and  candidates  for  Orders,  2,100  lay  read- 
ers, nearly  700,000  communicants,  500,000  teachers  and 
scholars  in  the  Sunday  School,  and  about  3,000,000  adherents. 

The  "little  one"  hath  indeed  "become  a  thousand,"  and  the 
"small  one  a  strong  nation."  "Surely  there  is  no  enchantment 
against  Jacob,  neither  is  there  any  divination  against  Israel; 
Recording  to  this  time  it  shall  be  said  of  Jacob  and  of  Israel 
what  hath  God  wrought." 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  57 

THE  CHURCH'S  ADAPTABILITY  TO  THE  SPIRIT- 
UAL NEEDS  OF  OUR  AGE. 


BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  D.  MAXON,  D.  D.,  RECTOR,  CALVARY  CHURCH, 
PITTSBURG,  PA.    - 

I  appreciate  profoundly  the  privilege  of  taking  part  in  the 
centennial  of  Old  Trinity.  By  the  kind  consideration  of  the 
Bishop  and  the  cordial  invitation  of  the  Rector,  I  am  permit- 
ted to  enjoy  and  profit  by  that  to  which  I  was  heartily 
minded  when  first  the  suggestion  of  this  anniversary  was 
made.  In  this  venerable  church,  seven  years  of  my  ministry 
were  spent  whereof,  as  I  recall  them,  the  words  concerning 
Jacob  and  his  fair  Rachel  rise  unbidden  on  my  lips:  'They 
seemed  but  a  few  days  for  the  love  he  had  to  her."  They 
were  days  of  joy  and  peace  and  holy  inspiration,  whose 
memory  has  been  a  continuing  stimulus  and  benediction 
amid  the  more  exacting  duties  and  difficulties  of  later  years. 
Raw  and  inexperienced  as  that  seven  years  service  was, 
nevertheless  it  was  full  of  rare  happiness,  and  had  lessons  of 
faith  and  hope  and  love  which,  I  pray  God,  may  never  fail 
from  my  life.  Working  for  and  with  a  people  gently  forbear- 
ing, loyal,  united,  keenly  susceptible  to  the  rational  spiritual- 
ity of  our  church's  system,  and  working  under  a  Bishop  in 
whom,  to  a  rare  degree,  the  combination  of  intellectuality 
and  spirituality  were  and  still  are  signally  exemplified,  whose 
wise  counsels  of  faith  and  duty  were  a  priceless  privilege,  I 
cannot  now  forbear  to  express  my  personal  obligation  to  dear 
Old  Trinity  and  to  the  Diocese  of  Central  New  York,  while 
also  most  sincerely  thanking  the  Bishop  and  Mr.   Harding 

for  the  opportunity  they  have  so  kindly  afforded  me  of  speak- 
4 


5 8  One  Hundred  Years  of 

ing  this  morning  on  the  important  subject  which  also  they 
have  assigned. 

And  for  this  our  thoughts  must  immediately  recur  to  the 
period  of  the  church's  life  since  the  steps  of  the  pioneer  mis- 
sionary in  1798  brought  about  the  organization  of  this  parish. 
A  hundred  years  ago!  How  feeble  and  faltering  was  our 
Church  in  those  days.  How  strong  and  aggressive  is  she  to- 
day. Then,  though  she  had  seven  bishops  and  two  hundred 
other  clergy,  the  Church  was  invested  with  almost  invincible 
suspicion  from  them  that  were  without,  and  seriously  handi- 
capped by  many  uncertainties  of  internal  co-ordination. 
Now,  with  her  84  bishops,  and  nearly  50,000  priests  and 
deacons  in  58  dioceses,  and  28  missionary  jurisdictions,  with 
700,000  communicants  increasing  50,000  yearly,  with  volun- 
tary contributions,  reported  last  year,  of  over  twelve  and  a 
half  millions  of  dollars,  with  nineteen  theological  schools,  4 
training  schools  for  deaconesses,  8  colleges,  143  schools  for 
boys  and  girls,  90  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  129  home  or- 
phanages and  shelters,  32  religious  orders,  and  20  Church 
clubs — the  Church  to-day  is  as  a  giant  refreshed  with  new 
wine,  confident,  alert,  winning  the  confidence  of  the  American 
people,  enforcing  a  genuine  regard  on  account  of  her  fidelity 
to  the  historical  faith,  and  of  her  large  and  liberal  sympathy 
for  the  needs  of  men,  becoming  more  and  more  a  principal 
factor  in  the  solution  of  present-age  problems,  religious,  so- 
cial and  individual. 

In  so  far  as  the  American  Church  may  be  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  human  organization  and  polity,  I  know  nothing 
which  more  truly  and  aptly  discovers  the  secret  of  her  adapt- 
ability to  the  needs  of  our  people  from  age  to  age,  than  the 
original  plan  of  wise  Bishop  William  White  as  thus  outlined 
by  his  worthy  successor,  Bishop  Alonzo  Potter. 

"The  peace  of  1783  had  not    been    concluded    before  he 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  59 

(Bishop  White),  had  sketched  out  a  pamphlet  entitled  "The 
Case  of  the  Episcopal  Considered."  A  plan  for  the  re-organ- 
ization of  our  infant  communion,  which  shows  the  compre- 
hensive skill  of  a  statesman,  and  which  ultimately  commend- 
ed itself  to  general  acceptance.  The  essential  unity  of  the 
whole  American  Church  as  a  national  church,  its  independ- 
ence of  any  foreign  jurisdiction,  the  entire  separation  of  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  authority,  the  participation  of  the  laity 
in  the  legislation  and  government  of  the  church,  and  in  the 
election  of  its  ministers  of  every  grade,  the  equality  of  all 
parishes,  and  a  three  fold  organization  (diocesan,  provincial 
and  general)  were  fundamental  principles  in  his  plan,  as  they 
were  in  that  which  was  finally  adopted."  Here  was  a  broad 
and  sure  foundation,  and  combined  as  it  was  with  the  firm 
conviction  of  our  first  master  builders,  "That  this  church  is 
far  from  intending  to  depart  from  the  Church  of  England  in 
any  essential  point  of  doctrine,  discipline  or  worship;  or  far- 
ther than  local  circumstances  require,"  it  was  a  foundation 
capable  of  uprearing  the  great  historical  and  variedly  ap- 
pointed fabric  which  not  a  few  of  our  judicious  prophets  and 
seers  already  like  to  denominate — the  American  church  for 
the  American  people.  It  is  no  unsubstantial  vision.  For  in- 
deed a  church  must  have  true  connection  with  all  the  past  of 
Christianity,  a  national  church  must  be  prepared  to  co-or- 
dinate with  the  constitutional  structure  of  the  nation  in  which 
God  has  placed  her;  and  an  American  church  must  be  in- 
stinct with  the  genius,  and  open  minded  to  the  boundless  re- 
sources and  activities  of  the  American  people.  Small  as  our 
communion  is  besides  some  other  Christian  bodies,  yet,  with- 
out the  least  disposition  to  stretch  ourselves  above  nature, 
but  taking  a  just  consideration  of  the  facts  of  history  and  the 
conditions  of  the  present,  we  may  well  hope  that  if  the  church 
shall  hold  the  original  foundation  sure   and    continually   re- 


60  One  Hundred  Years  of 

consecrate  her  spirits  and  efforts,  the  vision  of  our  prophets 
in  due  time  will  be  realized. 

But  though  man  proposes,  God  disposes.  If  our  church 
were  but  a  human  fabric,  we  could  have  no  such  confidence. 
If  we  could  not  steadfastly  look  beyond  the  judicious  White 
and  his  co-laborers  of  the  sub-revolutionary  age  to  the  far 
distant  past  of  original  Christianity,  our  present  vision  would 
be  that  of  deluded  followers  of  a  forlorn  hope.  We  may  never 
forget  the  momentous  promise  of  the  divine  head  of  the 
church :  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world,"  nor  the  conviction  and  teachings  of  his  first  disciples, 
"Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ;  ye  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles 
and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner- 
stone; in  whom  all  the  building,  fitly  framed  together,  grow- 
eth  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord."  We  have  no  option; 
we  must  keep  the  original  compact  of  God  in  Christ,  which 
no  age  has  ever  been,  nor  can  ever  be,  competent  to  disannul. 
The  Church  is  not  of  this  age  nor  of  that ;  but  it  is  the  Church 
of  the  ages,  and  were  our  own  Church  but  the  creation  of  a 
hundred  years  or  of  350  years,  we  should  have  no  justifica- 
tion for  the  present,  nor  any  security  for  the  future.  I  will 
not  consume  your  time  in  the  needless  attempt  to  vindicate 
our  Church's  historical  position  as  apostolic.  That  repeated- 
ly has  been  proved  invulnerable  whether  to  ponderous  bulls 
of  Popes  or  to  slender  shafts  of  sectarianism.  Her  creeds  and 
her  Bible,  her  ministry  and  her  sacraments  have  constituted 
both  an  impenetrable  armor,  and  ever  available  munition 
against  attacks  from  every  side.  The  appeal  to  history  is  our 
especial  delight,  while  our  champions,  equipped  and  resolute, 
standing  from  age  to  age  on  the  Church's  ramparts — a 
Hooker,  a  Laud,  and  an  Andrewes,  a  Bull  and  a  Waterland, 
a  White,  a  Seabury  and  a  Hobart,  a  Gladstone,  a  Pusey  and  a 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  61 

Church,  a  Lightfoot  and  a  Liddon,  a  Westcott  and  a  Temple, 
a  DeKoven,  a  Potter,  a  Doane,  a  Coxe  and  a  Huntington, 
have  made  it  abundantly  needless  for  me  to  proffer  a  puny 
weapon  on  behalf  of  our  Church's  genuine  apostolicity. 

My  particular  duty,  directed  by  the  subject  assigned,  is  to 
claim  the  Church's  adaptability  to  the  needs  of  our  own  age — 
a  claim  which  almost  a  cursory  survey  of  what  the  Church  is 
and  is  doing  will  vindicate  without  special  word  of  mine. 
Nevertheless  I  must  try  in  some  measure  to  fulfill  my  ap- 
pointed task.  And  first,  in  accord  with  the  analogy  of  our 
Church's  consistent  position  with  reference  to  her  true  histor- 
ical character,  I  must  ask  your  thought  to  recur  to  the  original 
authority  of  our  blessed  Lord.  Before  departing  from  his  first 
commissioned  apostles,  he  gathered  them  to  his  side  and  said: 
"I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear 
them  now;  howbeit  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come  he 
will  guide  you  into  all  the  truth;  he  shall  glorify  me,  for  he 
shall  receive  of  mine  and  shall  show  it  unto  you."  This  is  the 
original  divine  charter  of  the  Church's  adaptability  from  age  to 
age,  having  equal  authority  and  necessity  with  that  other  or- 
iginal divine  charter  of  the  Church's  continuing  apostolicility; 
"Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
The  first  disciples  were  unequipped  to  meet  any  tasks  of  their 
own  age,  without  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
now  were  they  competent  to  discharge  those  tasks  without  the 
co-operating  ability  of  their  own  experience.  They  were,  in- 
deed, absolutely  reliable  witnesses  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
Son  of  God,  for  which  they  had  but  to  declare — "We  saw  the 
Lord  dead  and  we  saw  him  risen  again" — and  thus  in  Jerusa- 
lem for  a  few  years  they  tarried,  adding  many  to  the  Church, 
who  "continued  steadfastly  in  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles  and 
in  the  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  the  bread  and  in  the  pray- 
ers." But  later,  when  their  numbers  largely  increased,  and 
after  the  missions  to  the  Gentiles  were  inaugurated,  the  adapt- 


62  One  Hundred  Years  of 

ability  to  the  Apostolic  Church  came  more  obviously  into 
effect.  Practical  problems  had  to  be  solved;  the  problem  of 
the  equitable  distribution  of  the  common  fund  among  the 
Hebrews  and  the  Grecians,  the  problem  of  opening  the  door 
to  the  Gentiles,  the  problem  of  the  circumcision  of  Gentiles, 
the  problem  of  the  Sabbath  day,  the  problem  of  the  lingering 
immoral  and  superstitious  habits  of  heathen  converts,  the 
problem  of  the  almost  universal  expectation  of  the  speedy 
coming  of  the  Lord.  The  fact  of  their  direct  divine  commis- 
sion did  not  spare  the  Apostolic  leaders  the  necessity  of  learn- 
ing by  experience  what  things  the  Spirit  would  have  them  do. 
They  always  sought  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  yet  also  they 
failed  not  to  take  counsel  one  with  another  upon  special 
problems  of  Church  extension,  or  of  internal  difficulties.  Thus 
they  instituted  the  order  of  deacons  for  a  practical  exigency, 
it  met  a  need  and  they  continued  it;  for  a  time  they  sustained 
a  sort  of  communism  in  material  things  which,  under  more 
complex  conditions,  was  afterward  abandoned;  they  debated 
long  and  earnestly  upon  terms  on  which  the  Gentiles  should 
retain  communion  with  the  Church,  coming  at  length  to  a 
compromise  that  gave  general  satisfaction;  even  so  truly 
apostolic  a  leader  as  St.  Paul  looked  for  the  Lord's  early  re- 
turn in  visible  form,  an  expectation  which  generally  prevailed 
among  the  disciples  till  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  70, 
and  from  that  time  gradually  was  dissolved.  The  church  ad- 
ministered by  inspired  Apostles,  was  an  adaptable  church,  and 
therefore  a  progressive  church.  Although  the  witness  of  the 
apostles  to  the  divine  facts  and  verities  of  the  faith  was  vir- 
tually fixed  and  infallible,  yet  by  the  adjustment  of  those  facts 
to  new  experience  the  Apostolic  Church  was,  as  the  church 
in  every  age  has  been  and  must  be  conditioned  by  the  original 
charter  of  the  Master:  "When  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come  He 
shall  guide  you  into  all  the  truth;"  and  from  this  our  only 
legitimate  inference  is,  that  the  Spirit  of  truth  works  gradual- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  63 

ly,  not  simply  from  God  down  to  men,  but  also  from  men  up 
to  God  through  manifold  processes  of  human  thought  and 
action. 

If  now  we  take  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  Church's 
movements  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the  present,  we  observe 
two  broadly  marked  tendencies  operating  within  the  sphere  of 
the  human,  the  mutual  contact  and  counter-agency  of  which 
is  still  striving  to  affect  an  even  balance  of  adaptability.  The 
one  is  medievilism,  the  other  is  liberalism.  Up  to  the  Refor- 
mation the  preponderating  human  tendency  expressed  itself 
in  fixedness  or  unadaptability ;  and  the  Reformation  was  a 
divine  protest  of  the  Spirit  of  truth  against  the  unadaptability 
of  medievalism.  Since  the  Reformation  and  continuing  to  our 
day  the  other  tendency  has  expressed  itself  in  the  gradual  re- 
laxation from  a  co-ordinating,  historically  authoritative  guid- 
ance, an  adaptability  breaking  out  in  many  places  into  a  licen- 
tious liberalism.  The  imperative  function  of  the  Spirit  of  truth 
in  these  days  is,  while  still  protesting  against  the  unadaptabil- 
ity of  medievalism,  to  bind  up  the  scattering  elements  of  faith 
and  practice,  thai  mark  the  wayward  course  of  liberalism,  and 
bring  them  into  a  truly  divine-human  correspondence.  If 
Christendom,  before  the  Reformation,  tended  to  sacrifice  free- 
dom of  adaptability  for  the  sake  of  the  theoretic  perfection  of 
the  organism:  its  tendency  since  the  Reformation,  and  still 
evident  in  many  sections  of  Protestantism,  has  been  to  impair 
the  soundness  of  the  organism  by  an  excessive  license  of  un- 
regulated adaptability.  In  either  case,  where  human  judgment 
has  proudly  presumed  against  the  Spirit  of  truth,  there  have 
been  grave  spiritual  dangers  and  distress,  on  the  one  hand,  a 
torpid  conservatism,  which  is  a  slow  strangulation  of  all  vital 
reality  and  human  helpfulness,  and  on  the  other  hand,  a  spe- 
cious, infatuous  liberalism  which  is  a  rampant  run  to  ruin. 

Without  the  smallest  desire  to  vaunt  our  own  historic 
Church,  I  am  confidently  within  bounds  with  the  claim  that 


64  One  Hundred  Years  of 

in  her  fundamental  constitution,  prevailing  aim  and  orderly 
movement,  she  is,  for  this  land  and  age  the  conspicuous  em- 
bodiment and  exponent  of  the  ancient  apostolic  principle  and 
spirit.  She  has  had  her  temporary  periods  of  dead  conser- 
vatism; and  in  certain  seasons  and  places,  she  has  exhibited 
outbreaks  of  over  weaning  liberalism.  But  in  the  main  she 
has  nobly  guarded  her  Via  Media,  and  been  true  to  what  I 
take  to  be  her  true  watch  cry:  Conservativeness  with  Progress, 
or  if  you  please,  historically  and  spiritually-consistent  adapt- 
ability; while  her  motto,  which  all  her  sincere  lovers  might 
wish  were  more  deeply  appreciated  and  more  truly  exalted 
amongst  ourselves — a  motto  which  in  patient  hope  she  has 
presented  to  the  generous  recognition  of  them  that  are  with- 
out— is  "In  necessariis  unitas,  in  dubiis  libertas,  in  omnibus 
caritas." 

Again,  I  will  not  consume  your  time  in  needless  proof  of 
this  position  of  the  Anglo-American  Communion.  Our  Holy 
Scriptures  translated  from  the  original  Greek  and  Hebrew,  yet 
freely  put  into  the  hands  of  our  people,  our  ancient  creeds 
fencing  off  the  faith  and  guiding  the  popular  Bible  reading 
against  the  wastes  of  ignorance,  our  confident  appeal  to  an- 
cient authors,  our  ever-ready  recourse  to  history,  our  noble 
vernacular  liturgy  which  is  no  hasty  manufacture  but  an  or- 
ganism of  timely  growth,  together  with  our  present  day  in- 
creasing outreaches  of  practical  activities  will  of  themselves 
abundantly  justify  our  honorable  claim  on  behalf  of  the 
Church's  safe-guarded  freedom  of  adaptability  to  human 
needs. 

"Strengthen  thy  stakes  and  lengthen  thy  cords"  was  the  in- 
spired call  of  the  prophet  of  God's  people,  as  he  foresaw  the 
incoming  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  fold  of  Israel.  This  call  the 
leaders  of  the  Apostolic  Church  heeded  when,  though  widely 
adopting  the  Church  for  both  Gentile  and  Jew,  they  yet  pro- 
claimed "Though   we   or   an  angel  from  heaven  preach  any 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  65 

other  gospel  than  that  we  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  an- 
athema." This  call  our  own  Church  must  likewise  heed,  and 
I  dare  maintain  that  in  all  Christendom  no  Church  body  is 
more  sincerely  and  hopefully  endeavoring-  to  heed  it.  The 
Church  of  to-day  must  indeed  provide  for  the  hospitable  shel- 
tering of  the  manifold  vital  interests  of  humanity.  This  is  her 
mission  as  the  authorized  visible  embodiment  of  the  universal 
Christ.  Her  stakes  are  the  verities  of  the  Faith,  and  to  bear 
up  the  expanding  structure,  these  must  be  driven  beyond  pos- 
sibility of  removal  into  the  very  bed-rock  of  the  divine-human 
personality  of  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  The 
cords  are  her  varied  lines  of  outreach  to  all  real  and  necessary 
human  interests,  and  they  may  always  be  safely  lengthened  if 
the  stakes  are  correspondingly  strengthened.  To  lengthen 
the  cords  without  strengthening  the  stakes  is  to  invite  collapse. 
Yet  simply  to  strengthen  the  stakes  and  tighten  the  cords  is 
to  provide  a  stiff  and  narrow  structure  for  a  small  fraction  of 
the  whole  body  of  humanity:  it  is  ingeniously  to  contrive  a 
gilded  shrine  for  a  pampered  sect  rather  than  faithfully  and 
generously  to  build  up  the  glorious  body  of  the  Saviour  of 
mankind.  Our  own  Church  to-day,  I  say  it  with  no  poor 
boasting,  is  well  rooted  in  the  original  faith,  while  every  year 
she  may  be  seen  lengthening  her  cords  of  spreading  sympathy 
to  embrace  the  spiritual  with  the  intellectual  and  social  needs 
of  the  age.  With  her  feet  firm  on  the  past,  her  mind  and  her 
hands  intensely  occupied  with  the  present,  and  her  eyes,  be- 
hind and  before,  comprehending  the  progress  of  her  Lord's 
Kingdom  from  the  old  to  the  new  Jerusalem',  the  Church  is 
not  only  holding  her  own,  but  steadily  winning  fresh  and  im- 
portant advances.  "Whereto  we  have  already  attained,  let  us 
walk  by  the  same  rule,  let  us  mind  the  same  thing,"  and  as 
men  who  would  have  understanding  of  the  times,  let  us  strive 
together  with  the  grace  of  God  to  know  more  and  more  clear- 
ly what  the  Israel  of  our  day  ought  to  do. 


66  One  Hundred  Years  of 

(a)  One  of  the  profoundest  spiritual  needs  of  Christendom 
is  a  true  unity.  The  divisions  among  us  are  evils  of  gigantic 
import.  They  becloud  the  Faith,  they  mislead  the  wayfarer, 
they  evoke  the  demons  of  envy  and  jealousy,  they  retard  mis- 
sions, they  prevent  public  education,  they  handicap  charities, 
they  waste  money,  they  pierce  through  and  through  the  heart 
of  the  Master.  Christian  unity,  such  as  Christ  prayed  for,  and 
his  apostolic  followers  labored  for,  is  yet  in  the  maelstrom 
wherein  the  unity  of  the  spirit  and  the  bond  of  peace  are  whirl- 
ing uncertainly  beneath  the  conflicting  human  powers  of  pride 
and  arrogancy,  prejudice  and  suspicion,  grandiloquent  optim- 
ism and  disgusted  pessimism,,  demands  for  submission, 
proffers  of  compromise,  and  decrees  of  laissez  faire.  Astound- 
ing spectacle!  Nevertheless  the  steady  eye  of  faith  may  still 
see  the  Spirit  of  God  brooding  above  the  troubled  waters.  In 
former  years,  our  Church  may  have  been  as  little  disposed  to 
adaptability  as  other  Christian  bodies.  But  since  the  Chicago- 
Lambeth  propositions  this  may  not  fairly  be  said.  With  de- 
liberate publicity,  she  has  avouched  both  her  desire  and  her 
basis  of  treaty.  If  any  other  body  has  proffered  as  much  of 
non-essential  with  equal  loyalty  to  the  apostolic  faith  and  or- 
der, I  am  unable  to  name  it.  If  any  body  has  contrived  a 
working  platform  of  equal  soundness  and  breadth  for  the  ul- 
timate organic  union  of  all  Christendom  Greek,  Roman, 
Anglican,  American  and  segmentary  Protestantism,  I  know 
not  where  to  look  for  it.  The  quadrilateral  has  been  met  with 
disdain  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  mingled  irritation  and  ridi- 
cule on  the  other.  Nevertheless,  both  for  itself  and  for  the 
spirit  in  which  it  was  offered,  it  still  is  worthy  of  the  gratitude 
of  distracted  Christendom,  and  although  for  the  present,  it  is 
submerged  beneath  the  tumultuous  waters  that  are  still  un- 
subdued by  the  Spirit  sent  in  the  name  of  Christ,  yet  in  due 
time  it  will  be  taken  up  by  that  divine  Spirit,  and  used  as  a 
principal  factor  in  the  problem  of  pacification.     Let  patience 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  67 

have  her  perfect  work.  God  and  time  are  sure  master  build- 
ers. Christian  unity,  though  it  come  not  through  submission 
compelling  dead  uniformity,  nor  by  levelling  concessions 
which  dissipate  all  that  is  eternally  distinctive  in  the  Christian 
Revelation,  will  yet  come  through  the  continuing  prayerful 
co-operative  endeavor  of  all  loyal  minded  lovers  of  God  and 
man. 

(b)  A  marked  characteristic  of  our  age  is  its  intellectual  ac- 
tivity. It  has  been  the  irrepressible  growth  of  the  past  cen- 
tury. I  will  not  stop  particularly  to  characterize  its  manifold 
expressions.  I  simply  state  the  evident  fact  that  the  direct 
influence  of  mental  intelligence  upon  spiritual  feeling  and  aim 
is  profound  and  often  revolutionary.  To-day  the  question  is 
crucial — can  man  increase  knowledge  and  retain  his  Christian 
beliefs?  The  counter-question  to  this  is — can  man  with  per- 
manent advantage  increase  knowledge  and  ignore  the  religion 
of  Christ?  It  is  for  the  Church  to  return  no  uncertain  answer 
to  these  questions.  If  it  is  true,  as  Mr.  Froude  said,  that 
"Science  grows,  and  observers  are  adding  daily  to  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  material  universe,  but  they  tell  us  nothing  of  what 
we  most  want  to  know;"  then  the  Church  which  is  the  ex- 
ponent of  Christ's  religion  has  a  chief  function  to  minister  un- 
to this  deepest  and  highest  knowledge. 

How  far  ought  and  may  the  Church  adapt  her  faith  and 
methods  of  religious  education  so  as  to  bring  the  mind  of  the 
age  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  Christ?  Not  so  far  as  to  con- 
nive at  the  abrogation  of  her  Faith;  not  so  little  as  to  leave  her 
stranded  on  the  high  and  dry  shore  of  permanent  intellectual 
confusion.  If  she  shall  so  utterly  concede  the  revealed  faith  in 
the  Incarnate  Christ  to  the  imperious  demand  of  present  day 
intellectualism  as  to  consent  that  Christ  shall  be  relegated 
simply  to  an  honorable  rank  among  the  great  spiritual  masters 
of  the  world,  she  will  forfeit  her  trust,  and  the  axe  of  divine 
judgment  will  be  laid  unto  her  very  root.    Yet  if  she  shall  re- 


6S  One  Hundred  Years  of 

fuse  to  believe  and  aet  upon  the  conviction,  that  within  the  re- 
vealed Christian  facts  there  is  a  perennial  fountain  of  spiritual 
wisdom  for  quenching  the  thirst  of  man  for  the  true  knowl- 
edge of  God  and  eternal  life,  then  she  will  fail  of  her  power 
to  co-operate  with  the  Spirit  of  truth  in  christening  the  mind 
of  the  world.  Were  I  equal  to^  the  task,  time  would  yet  fail 
me  to>  indicate  what  the  Church  Catholic  might  do,  or  even 
what  our  own  branch  of  the  Church  is  doing  in  the  direction 
of  a  true  adaptability.  I  simply  affirm  on  the  one  hand  that 
blind  submission  to  a  single  alleged  infallible  authority  in  faith 
and  morals  insufficiently  respects  the  practical  rationality  of 
the  human  mind,  and  tends  still,  as  ever,  to  a  subversion  of  the 
co-operating  ability  of  man's  reason  in  the  appropriation  of  a 
living  faith;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  unguided  private 
judgment  long  since  has  put  the  Church  face  to  face  with  the 
problem  of  how  to  preserve  the  Historic  Faith  from  funda- 
mental evacuation.  I  believe  our  own  Church  has  a  clear  call 
and  a  free  opportunity  to  meet  the  issue  between  faith  and 
rationalism.  I  believe  she  is  awake  to  the  issue.  Her  portals 
are  wide,  her  foundation  is  at  once  broad  and  firm.  Within 
the  limits  of  loyal  fidelity  to  the  historic  creeds  and  of  rational 
regard  to  historic  order,  she  has  a  welcome  and  a  place  for 
many  schools  of  thought,  among  her  leaders  she  has  many  of 
the  master  minds  of  the  age;  and  if  by  God's  grace  she  shall 
to  herself  keep  true  she  cannot  prove  false  to  any  man,  but 
more  and  more  worthily  respond  to  her  calling  as  the  Church 
of  the  reconciliation. 

(c)  Finally  there  are  the  social  needs  of  the  age.  The  times 
bristle  with  problems  of  poverty  and  industrial  disorder,  of  the 
clashing  of  classes,  of  municipal  misrule  and  anti-patriotic  un- 
righteousness. These  profoundly  affect  the  spiritual  attitude 
and  welfare  of  our  people.  Is  the  Church  prepared  to  adapt 
herself  so  as  to  give  Christ  his  proper  determining  value  in  the 
solution  of  these  problems?    It  is  impossible  for  her  to  be  in- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  69 

different  to  them,  although  it  is  difficult  for  her  to  hold  the 
right  proportion  between  a  visionary  spirituality  and  despirit- 
ualized  secularity.  But  she  cannot  shrink  back.  She  must 
hold  herself  by  a  double  band  of  loyalty  and  sympathy  to 
Christ  and  to  all  things  that  pertain  to  the  coherency  and  up- 
lifting of  human  society.  We  Church  people  must  needs  con- 
fess that  God's  purpose  is  "in  the  fullness  of  times  to  gather 
together  in  one  all  tilings  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven 
and  which  are  on  earth,"  and  that  "the  Church  is  the  body  of 
Christ,  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  From  the 
standpoint  of  this  faith,  who  will  draw  the  exact  lines  between 
things  sacred  and  things  secular?  All  life  is  sacred  to  God. 
Who  will  precisely  discriminate  between  the  ideal  cf  the  Christ- 
ian Church  and  the  ideal  of  the  Christian  State?  Let  God 
work  his  strange  work,  and  in  his  time  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  shall  be  the  Kingdom  of  his  Christ.  The  Church  has 
been  with  one  eye  closed;  and  the  Spirit  of  truth  now  knocks 
loudly  at  her  door  saying,  "It  is  high  time  to  be  all  awake." 
The  Church  may  no  longer  merely  propound  spiritual  ideals; 
she  must  with  the  grace  of  God  work  out  those  ideals  in  down- 
right contact  with  social  needs.  Shall  the  present  generation 
of  men,  seeking  in  vain  a  true  brotherhood  within  the  Church, 
still  strive  to  satisfy  their  need  of  fraternity  in  the  increasing 
orders  and  associations  outside  the  Church?  Shall  men  and 
women,  divinely  endowed  with  intelligence  and  sympathy, 
and  with  unquenchable  desire  to  work  for  a  better  social  order, 
be  forced  to  turn  away  from  an  unsympathetic  and  unpractical 
Church  to  other  societies  for  the  people's  improvement,  whose 
principles  are  indifferent  if  not  antagonistic  to  the  historic 
faith  of  Christianity?  Shall  there  be  over-repetition  of  the  sad 
circumstance,  a  few  years  ago,  of  toiling  workmen,  stung  by  a 
sense  of  indifference,  applauding  the  name  of  Christ  and  hiss- 
ing the  name  of  the  Church?  Christ  would  not  have  it  so. 
The  Church,  responding  to  the  urgent  call  of  the  Spirit,  can 


70  One  Hundred  Years  of 

no  longer  suffer  it  to  be  so.  Undoubtedly  the  Church,  still 
lacking  full  equipment  and  working  force,  may  not  adequately 
supply  all  the  needs  of  the  times.  Individuals  working  through 
voluntary  associations  which  acknowledge  no  allegiance  to  the 
Church,  besides  municipal  and  state  institutions,  must  and  will 
continue  to  share  in  providing  for  the  people's  needs.  But  the 
Church  must  ever  be  at  the  forefront  of  the  practical  uplift- 
ing social  forces,  nor  suffer  herself  to  retire  impotently  to  the 
rear;  while  continuously  her  indirect  influence  must  work  to 
keep  alive  Christian  principles  in  all  individual  workers 
whatever  be  their  particular  association.  None  like  her 
can  speak  so  authoritatively,  so  persuasively  in  the  august 
name  of  Jesus  Christ.  None  like  her  can  maintain  the  Spirit 
within  the  body  of  practical  works.  None  like  her  can  so  read- 
ily marshal  men  and  women  of  all  classes  to  a  disinterested 
co-operation  on  behalf  of  some  great  public  cause,  and  at  the 
same  time  fix  an  enlightened  conscience,  and  set  free  a  sus- 
tained inspiration  for  the  permanent  accomplishment  of  such 
cause.  Already  in  our  great  cities  Christianity  is  multiplying 
her  agencies  for  practical  ministration  to  the  people;  a  fact  of 
immense  significance,  for  without  doubt  the  city  is  getting  to 
be  the  determining  human  power  for  the  future  good  or  evil 
of  the  country.  In  this  arousing  Christian  work,  our  own 
Church  is  doing  valiantly,  as  may  be  shown  from  the  annual 
Year  Books  of  an  increasing  number  of  parishes.  Certainly 
our  own  Church  has  much  to  encourage  her  to  even  larger  and 
nobler  works.  I  mean  not  simply  the  general  intelligence  and 
wealth  of  our  city  congregations;  but  even  more  the  underly- 
ing principle  of  her  conservative  adaptability,  and  especially 
her  emphatic  recognition  of  the  co-operation  of  the  laity  in  all 
that  appertains  to  her  practical  governance  and  ministration. 
These  are  indeed  times  when  our  laity  can  most  effectually 
supplement  the  peculiar  functions  of  the  clergy;  not  simply 
by  generous  money-giving,  but  by  actual  work  along  educa- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  71 

tional,  moral  and  charitable  lines  in  the  Sunday  School,  at  the 
headship  of  parish  improvement  societies,  through  the  Church 
Clubs,  by  bringing  vital  questions  of  good  citizenship,  genuine 
patriotism,  honest  business  methods,  and  of  a  just  relation 
between  wealth  and  stewardship  to  bear  upon  the  youths  of 
their  respective  parishes.  Our  laity  are  preparing  themselves, 
yes,  even  now  they  are  ready  to  respond  to  the  inspiriting  call 
of  the  clergy.  Let  the  clergy  more  and  more  earnestly  adapt 
themselves  to  such  a  co-operation  with  the  laity  as  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Church  clearly  provide;  and  beyond  all  doubt 
both  the  clergy  and  the  laity  will  be  proportionally  stronger, 
and  our  Church  will  advance  mightily  in  directing  the  coun- 
try to>  a  higher  national  life. 

Said  the  English  justice  Lord  Coleridge  the  other  day  at 
the  Anglo-American  dinner  in  London :  "We  are  the  only  two 
nations  which  know  how  to  combine  public  order  and  private 
freedom."  So  they  speak  who  look  in  due  time  for  the  world- 
dominance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Can  there  be  a  truer,  nobler 
national  ideal  and  principle — public  order  and  private  free- 
dom? And  with  some  future  Anglo-American  alliance  in 
(State,  who  shall  fail  to  connect  the  influence  of  the  past  and 
present  acknowledged  Anglo-American  alliance  in  Church? 
Public  order  and  private  freedom!  Read  this  with  an  eccles- 
iastical and  religious  significance;  and  shall  we  not  confess  it 
to  be  an  essential  idea  and  prevailing  aim  of  the  great  historic 
Church  of  the  English-speaking  peoples,  whose  two  chief 
branches,  interlaced  and  still  interlacing  from  both  shores  of 
the  Atlantic,  were  never  more  vigorous  and  fruitful  than  at  this 
ending  of  the  nineteenth  century? 


72  One  Hundred  Years  of 

LETTERS   OF  REMINISCENCE    FROM   FORMER 
PARISHIONER  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH. 

READ     BY    THE    REV.     JOHN    ARTHUR,     RECTOR,       ST.     JOHN'S 
CHURCH,  ONEIDA,   N.  Y. 


LETTER    FROM    MRS.    ELIZABETH  BROWN,    DENVER,    COLO. 

In  1816  and  '17  I  attended  Miss  Lye's  school  in  Norton,  St. 
Philips,  England.  Among  my  classmates  were  the  three 
daughters  of  Bishop  William  White  of  Pennsylvania,  the  sec- 
ond American  Bishop. 

In  1820  I  was  a  maiden  of  seventeen.  I  came  to  Utica, 
and  thus  began  my  acquaintance  with  Trinity  Church.  Utica 
was  a  small  village  at  that  time,  and  depended  upon  stage 
coaches  for  communication  with  the  outside  world.  Trinity 
was  the  only  Episcopal  Church  in  that  part  of  New  York 
State,  except  the  one  at  Paris  Hill,  and  was  attended  by  many 
of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  place.  The  church  was  much 
smaller  than  now,  and  was  built  in  the  year  of  my  birth,  1803. 
I  am  therefore  the  age  of  old  Trinity.  I  well  remember  when 
Mrs.  M.  Hunt's  tablet  was  placed  in  the. church. 

Some  years  after  my  arrival  the  church  was  enlarged  and 
renovated,  and  was  thought  to  be  a  fine  edifice  for  those  days. 
It  had  no  recess  chancel  then.  The  pulpit  being  elevated 
several  feet  above  the  floor.  The  chancel  enclosed  by  a  cir- 
cular railing,  and  the  communion  table,  supported  by  four 
fluted  columns,  about  four  inches  in  diameter,  stood  before 
the  pulpit.  The  clergyman  ascended  two  or  three  steps  into 
the  chancel  from  the  vestry,  when  he  read  the  opening  sen- 
tences, and  continued  the  service.  In  reading  the  lessons  as- 
cending three  or  four  steps  more  to  the  reading  desk.  The 
service  ended  the  choir  sang  a  psalm,  during  which  the 
preacher  passed  down  into  the  vestry,  to  again  appear  robed 
in  a  black  silk  gown  through  a  door  back  of  the  pulpit. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  73 

I  do  not  remember  then  of  hearing  of  any  of  our  clergy- 
men being  accused  of  preaching  over  the  heads  of  the  con- 
gregation, or  of  being  too  "high  church,"  even  if  the  pulpit 
was  so  elevated. 

All  the  woodwork  outside  and  inside,  walls  and  ceiling,  were 
painted  white.  The  crimson  fringe  which  hung  from  the  desk 
and  the  bright  carpet  which  covered  the  small  chancel  floor, 
made  a  pretty  contrast. 

The  pews  of  the  church  were  arranged  after  the  fashion  of 
the  old  country,  and  most  of  them  owned  by  persons  who  had 
subscribed  liberally  to  the  erection  of  the  church.  Some  of 
them  were  surrounded  by  cushions,  and  all  of  them  trimmed 
and  furnished  by  the  owners  in  different  colors,  red,  blue, 
green  and  grey  moreen  in  a  very  sumptuous  fashion.  A  few 
of  the  owners  had  keys  to  their  pews,  and  when  worship  was 
over,  the  doors  were  locked  against  intruders.  This  would 
seem  strange  now,  but  custom  made  it  all  right  then. 

My  husband,  who  was  at  one  time  a  vestryman  of  the 
church,  was  the  owner  of  one  of  these  pews,  which  he  pur- 
chased from1  an  original  owner.  It  was  furnished  in  green 
moreen,  and  studded  with  brass  headed  nails,  and  was  thought 
to  be  one  of  the  finest  in  the  church. 

The  church  was  heated  by  two  stoves,  placed  in  front,  the 
pipes  running  along  near  the  ceiling  to  the  back  of  the  church; 
but  notwithstanding  it  sometimes  was  uncomfortably  cold  in 
severe  weather.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  see  members  of  the 
congregation  bring  in  foot-stoves,  to  mitigate  the  cold.  I  im- 
agine such  a  scene  might  cause  a  smile  now. 

At  night  for  concerts,  weddings  or  any  special  occasion, 
the  church  was  lighted  by  candles,  and  three  large  oil  lamps, 
which  hung  from  the  ceiling  by  chains.  From  these  lamps 
glass  pendants  were  suspended,  and  every  one  thought  they 


74  One  Hundred  Years  of 

were  very  beautiful.  The  windows  were  square,  and  cut  up  in- 
to small  panes. 

Sunday  services  were  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  at 
three  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  summer.  Holy  Communion 
was  celebrated  after  morning  service,  on  the  first  Sunday  of 
each  month.  During  Lent  services  on  Wednesday  and  Fri- 
day morning. 

A  box  was  placed  near  the  door  for  contributions  for  mis- 
sionary work,  and  the  poor  of  the  parish,  and  remained  there 
many  years. 

Over  sixty  years  ago  there  was  an  English  family  who  at- 
tended Trinity,  consisting  of  father,  mother,  and  over  a  dozen 
sons  and  daughters  of  various  ages.  The  men  wore  heavy 
boots,  and  as  their  pew  was  near  the  front,  the  noise  they 
made  attracted  attention.  When  the  family  entered  they  did 
so  in  order  of  their  ages.  Until  all  were  seated  the  reading 
ceased.  When  they  reached  their  pew,  each,  the  father  and 
sons  raised  his  hat  to>  his  face,  and  after  a  short  prayer  all 
would  sit,  and  the  service  would  be  resumed.  Their  move- 
ments were  on  the  military  order.  I  cannot  now  recall  the 
name  of  this  interesting  family,  but  they  were  regular  attend- 
ants for  some  years. 

Before  leaving  our  English  home  I  had  read  and  heard 
much  of  the  Indians  and  their  savage  cruelties,  and  was  great- 
ly disappointed  at  seeing  none  in  New  York,  or  on  the  jour- 
ney through  the  woods  from  Albany  to  Utica.  About  my 
first  sight  of  the  savage  was  in  Trinity  Church,  often  as  de- 
vout worshipers,  numbering  as  many  as  fifteen  Indians  and 
squaws,  many  of  them  fine  specimen  of  their  race,  dressed  in 
blankets,  generally  of  dark  blue  broad-cloth.  Their  costume 
was  highly  ornamented  with  colored  beads,  quills  and  gay 
feathers. 

A  large  band  of  these  people  settled  near  Oneida  Lake,  and 
the  noble  Bishop  Hobart,  who  confirmed  me,  took  a  great 


A 


IV 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  75 

interest  in  their  spiritual  welfare.  In  after  years  Bishop  De- 
Lancey  and  Dr.  Proal  had  an  oversight  of  them.  I  remember 
when  their  tribe  separated,  and  many  of  them  went  west. 

They  attended  service  in  beautifully  ornamented  garments, 
with  moccasins  embroidered  in  beads  and  quills,  and  hair 
gathered  in  a  knot,  from  which  feathers  of  bright  colors  de- 
pended. 

Good  seats  were  always  provided  in  the  church.  After  the 
galleries  was  put  in,  they  sat  in  the  gallery  at  the  right  side  of 
the  church,  and  at  the  left  of  the  pulpit.  They  were  a  most 
interesting  sight.  Their  bowed  head  and  reverent  demeanor 
was  a  good  example  to  us  all. 

During  the  rectorate  of  Dr.  Proal  the  church  was  enlarged 
to  its  present  dimensions.  It  still  remained  the  only  church 
in  the  city,  and  a  movement  began  to  form  another  parish. 
Grace  Church  was  the  result,  many  of  the  most  influential  and 
respected  attendants  of  Trinity  leaving.  Some  of  these  were 
owners  of  pews  in  Trinity,  and  between  them  and  Dr.  Proal 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  friction.  Dr.  Proal  insisted  that  the 
claim  of  absolute  ownership  was  neither  just  or  for  the  best 
.interests  of  the  parish,  and  he  carried  his  point,  as  he  was  a 
very  determined  man,  when  he  thought  he  was  right.  A  good 
deal  of  bitterness  resulted,  but  in  time  the  matter  was  forgot- 
ten, and  Dr.  Proal's  views  were  sustained.  I  remember  an 
instance  of  his  method.  One  Sunday  afternoon  a  baptismal 
service  was  held;  and  after  the  lesson  the  Doctor  asked  the 
persons  to  be  baptized  to  come  forward,  and  commenced  the 
service;  but  owing  to  some  misunderstanding,  the  organist 
began  to  play  the  chant  and  the  choir  to  sing.  Dr.  Proal 
waved  his  prayer-book  to  the  choir.  They  paid  no  attention 
whatever,  but  continued;  finally  Dr.  Proal  in  that  splendid 
voice  of  his,  which  was  heard  above  choir  and  organ,  cried 
out,  "Stop  that  chant."  I  never  in  my  life  saw  a  more  morti- 
fied lot  of  singers.    When  the  baptism  was  over  the  chant  was 


7  6  One  Hundred  Years  of 

sung  in  its  proper  place,  but  without  the  organ,  the  organist 
being  too  much  upset  by  this  public  rebuke  to  play.  The  les- 
son was  a  severe  one,  and  was  not  forgotten  by  the  choir  for 
many  years. 

I  have  a  very  lively  recollection  of  the  men  who  ministered 
at  old  Trinity  during  my  connection  with  the  church.  Rev. 
Henry  Shaw  occupied  the  pulpit  in  1820.  He  was  a  very 
young  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability.  He  was  distin- 
guished for  his  kindness  of  heart,  and  was  generally  liked, 
particularly  by  the  younger  members  of  the  congregation. 
He  was  rector  for  only  two  years;  objections  being  made  to 
hdm  on  account  of  his  youth.  I  remember  his  farewell  ser- 
mon very  well.  We  were  all  much  affected.  The  preacher 
shed  bitter  tears. 

For  a  few  months  after  Mr.  Shaw  left,  Trinity  was  without 
a  rector,  Judge  Nathan  Williams  and  Judge  Morris  S.  Miller 
acting  alternately  as  lay  readers.  These  two  gentlemen  made 
it  their  duty  and  pleasure  to  welcome  strangers  to  the  services. 

Rev.  Henry  Anthon  was  the  next  rector.  He  was  a  medium 
sized,  rather  delicate  looking  man,  about  forty  years  of  age, 
as  near  as  I  can  remember.  He  was  talented,  and  a  very 
spiritually  minded  man;  but  uncompromising  where  the  church 
was  concerned.  Persons  of  other  denominations  sometimes 
called  him  the  "brimstone  man."  I  do  not  remember  just 
why.  His  home  life  was  particularly  delightful.  Strangers 
were  made  equally  welcome  with  his  friends.  The  church  in- 
creased under  his  ministration. 

Mrs.  Anthon  deserves  more  than  a  passing  mention.  She 
was  in  rather  feeble  health,  but  was  ever  active  among  the 
poor,  who  loved  her.  As  a  clergyman's  wife  she  was  perfect. 
I  called  upon  her  one  day.  She  entered  the  house  at  the  same 
time,  carrying  a  tea  kettle  that  had  been  given  her  for  some 
poor  family.    This  she  was  going  to  deliver  in  person.    Mrs. 


The  Rev.  Henry  Anthon,  D.  D. 
Rector  from  1821  to  182Q. 


The  Rev.  Benjamin  Dorr,  D.  D. 
Rector  from  182Q  to  1835. 


The  Rev.  Pierre  Alexis  Proal,  D.  D. 
Rector  from  i8j6  to  1857. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  77 

Anthon's  sister,  Miss  Curry,  took  almost  entire  care  of  the 
large  family  of  boys,  while  she  assisted  her  husband. 

During  Mr.  Anthon's  rectorship  the  first  parsonage  was 
built. 

A  sermon  I  remember  very  well,  which  made  a  great  im- 
pression upon  myself  and  others  was  from  the  text,  "As  for 
me  and  my  house  we  will  serve  the  Lord."  Dr.  Anthon 
preached  this  sermon  with  great  feeling.  He  left  us  to  become 
the  rector  of  St.  Stephen's,  New  York. 

The  next  rector  of  Trinity  was  Rev.  Benjamin  Dorr,  tall, 
pale  and  slight,  with  a  remarkably  clear  and  powerful  voice. 
He  was  a  very  earnest  man,  and  preached  as  one  having 
authority.  He  was  well-educated,  and  a  convincing  speaker; 
yet  withal  he  was  one  of  the  kindest  and  most  tender  of  men. 
JA  sermon  of  his  from  the  words,  "For  now  we  see  through  a 
glass  darkly,  then  face  to  face,"  was  one  of  the  most  sym- 
pathetic and  convincing  sermons  that  I  have  heard  a  Chris- 
tian minister  preach.  He  repeated  it  more  than  once  by  re- 
quest. Dr.  Dorr  was  too  able  a  man  for  the  small  parish  of 
Trinity,  and  he  accepted  a  call  to  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia. 

Rev.  Pierre  Alexis  Proal,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Dorr,  after  a 
space,  was  a  remarkable  man  in  every  way,  physically  and 
mentally,  and  a  power  in  the  church.  His  presence  was  com- 
manding, and  he  was  gifted  with  one  of  the  most  powerful 
voices  that  I  ever  heard,  musical  as  well;  and  he  was  able  to 
use  it  to  such  advantage  in  reading  our  beautiful  service.  I 
never  heard  such  a  reader.  In  the  burial  service  of  the  church 
the  words  received  a  new  meaning  from  his  emphasis  and  tone. 
A  perfect  specimen  of  a  churchman.  He  took  great  interest 
in  the  Liberia  question,  when  that  project  of  sending  the 
colored  people  back  to  Africa  interested  so  many.  To  make 
men  better,  to  benefit  all  races,  and  to  elevate  mankind  was 
his  aim.  Though  one  of  the  most  sympathetic  of  clergymen, 
he  was  a  man  of  very  positive  convictions,  and  made  enemies. 


78  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Some  of  those  who  left  Trinity  at  the  time  Grace  Church  was 
organized  felt  very  bitter  toward  Dr.  Proal,  but  everybody  re- 
spected him,  and  admired  his  commanding  abilities  and  sin- 
cerity of  purpose.  He  ranked  high  in  the  Diocese,  and  was 
trusted  greatly  by  his  own  Bishop.  His  parishioners  all  loved 
him,  and  they  leaned  on  him  as  they  would  on  a  father.  His 
death  was  a  personal  losis  to-  them,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
;we  should  never  be  able  to  bear  it.  As  far  as  it  was  possible 
for  a  clergyman  to  impress  his  individuality  upon  a  parish,  Dr. 
Proal  succeeded  in  stamping  his  upon  Trinity.  A  son-in-law, 
Rev.  Mr.  Riley,  officiated  for  a  time,  then  Rev.  S.  Hanson 
Coxe  was  called  as  his  successor,  whose  death  was  recent.  As 
a  speaker  and  orator  Dr.  Coxe  was  surpassed  by  none  of  the 
former  clergymen  of  old  Trinity.  There  are  many  now  living 
who  can  testify  to  the  sterling  worth  and  loveliness  of  his 
character. 

Thus  I  have  written  my  recollections  of  Trinity  Church  of 
former  days.  I  seem  to  live  over  again  the  incidents  of  those 
events  which  marked  the  early  history  of  the  parish,  which  is 
soon  to  celebrate  its  "One  hundredth  birthday."  I  cannot 
now,  and  never  have  been  able  to  regard  myself  as  any  but  a 
communicant  of  old  Trinity,  though  I  have  been  absent  for 
over  twenty-five  years,  yet  in  spirit  I  constantly  return  to  it, 
and  now,  in  recalling  my  early  life,  I  realize  more  and  more  as 
I  grow  older,  the  great  influence  upon  my  mind  and  charac- 
ter of  the  spiritual  ministration  which  I  received  during  my 
long  connection  with  the  parish. 

From  distant  Colorado,  therefore,  in  my  ninety-fifth  year,  I 
greet  all  you  who*  are  gathered  to<  do  honor  to  my  old  parish. 
I  have  experienced  many  changes  in  my  long  life,  but  my  faith 
is  stronger  than  ever.  It  will  not  be  long  before  I  shall  be 
summoned  to  meet  those  who  have  gone  before  me,  but  I  am 
ready.    I  greet  you  again,  and  say  farewell. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  79 

LETTER  FROM  MRS.   ELIZABETH  P.  ARTHUR,   UTICA,   N.   Y. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  Trinity  Church  was  in  1848.  In 
the  fall  of  that  year  I  first  entered  it,  as  a  bride  of  a  few 
months.  The  interior  of  the  church  was  quite  different  from 
what  it  is  now.  It  had  but  two  aisles,  and  the  pews  were  old 
style,  with  high  backs,  though  large  and  comfortable.  Many 
of  the  congregation  owned  their  pews,  and  these  were  in  the 
body  of  the  church,  and  upholstered,  according  to  the  own- 
ers' fancy,  some  one  color,  and  others  another.  The  other 
pews  were  ranged  along  the  side  of  the  building,  about  half 
of  them  running  across,  and  the  rest  running  up  and  down 
facing  the  congregation,  more  than  the  clergyman.  My  hus- 
band and  myself  occupied  one  of  these  pews,  together  with 
Mr.  George  Hopper  and  Mr.  Miles  Comstock,  and  I  think,  Mr. 
Selden  Collins.  Quite  near  us,  in  one  of  the  cross  seats,  sat 
Mr.  David  Prentice,  his  wife  and  two  daughters.  About  two 
years  afterward  occurred  the  marriage  of  Selden  Collins,  and 
the  youngest  Miss  Prentice.  Mr.  Prentice  lived  at  that  time 
in  a  large  house  on  the  corner  of  First  and  Catharine  Streets, 
and  had  a  Latin  and  grammar  school  for  boys  and  young 
men.  He  was  very  highly  thought  of  as  an  instructor,  and 
Horatio  Seymour,  besides  many  other  promient  men,  had 
been  pupils  of  his.  Mr.  Prentice  soon  after  moved  to  Geneva, 
where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  very  useful  life. 

I  think  it  was  in  185 1  that  the  interior  of  the  church  was 
remodeled — new  pews  were  placed,  and  all  were  cushioned 
alike,  and  we  had  a  broad  aisle  in  the  center,  and  two  other 
aisles  next  to  the  wall.  This  was  what  Dr.  Proal  had  long 
desired.  It  gave  the  church  a  more  pleasant  look — it  was 
more  convenient  for  weddings  and  funerals,  and  broke  up 
the  ownership  of  pews,  which  were  now  rented  and  brought 
in  a  certain  income. 

Dr.  Proal  was,  as  his  name  indicates,  of  French  descent. 


80  One  Hundred  Years  of 

He  was  an  excellent  pastor — highly  educated,  painstaking  and 
business  like.  His  sermons  were  excellent — models  I  should 
say,  and  his  reading  was  beautiful.  I  used  to  think  it  almost 
-as  good  as  a  sermon,  to  hear  him  read  a  hymn  or  a  chapter 
from  the  Bible.  One  forgot  the  reader,  and  only  thought  of 
the  beautiful  meaning  of  the  words.  Later,  if  it  was  said  of 
anyone,  that  he  read  as  well  as  Dr.  Proal,  it  was  considered 
praise  enough. 

He  was  a  very  industrious  man,  rising  often  at  4  A.  M., 
and  working  in  his  garden,  and  raising  as  fine  fruit  as  could 
be  obtained  at  that  time.  He  used  to  say  it  took  no  more 
space  or  labor  for  a  good  tree  than  a  poor  one.  Mrs.  Proal 
was  a  very  beautiful  woman,  and  like  her  mother  a  good  man- 
ager; never  remiss  in  any  parish  work,  where  she  was  able 
to  assist  her  husband,  or  the  church.  Together  they  reared  a 
family,  giving  them  good  education,  and  also  bought  a  house 
on  Broad  Street,  next  the  church,  to  which  they  retired  when 
Dr.  Proal  resigned,  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  it  was 
there  he  died.  His  oldest  daughter,  Miss  Mary,  was  educated 
at  the  Seminary  of  Miss  Sheldon,  and  afterwards  conducted 
a  young  ladies'  school  in  this  house  for  some  years.  She  mar- 
ried Mr.  Judson,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Buffalo. 

The  second  daughter,  Miss  Elizabeth,  married  Mr.  Riley, 
who  was  Dr.  ProaTs  assistant  for  a  short  time. 

My  husband,  Mr.  Arthur,  was  a  vestryman  while  Dr.  Proal 
was  living.  He  was  with  him  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  he 
with  the  other  vestrymen,  among  whom  were  Selden  Collins 
and  Miles  Comstock,  bore  him  to  his  last  resting  place,  and 
Bishop  DeLaney  officiated  at  his  funeral.  For  twenty-one  years 
he  had  served  his  Lord  in  this  Parish,  and  we  felt  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  any  one  to  fill  his  place.  Yet,  in  securing 
Rev.  S.  Hanson  Coxe  to  succeed  Dr.  Proal  we  thought  we 
were  extremely  fortunate.    He  was  from  the  first  much  liked 


THE  RKV.  S.  HANSON  COXE,  S.  T.  D. 
Rector  from  1857  to  1S77. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  Si 

by  every  one,  and  Mrs.  Proal  remarked  that  "He  reminded 
her  of  her  husband  in  his  younger  days."  Those  who  had  the 
privilege  and  the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  will  never  forget  his 
able  and  interesting  sermons,  and  his  beautiful  reading, 
when  his  magnificent  voice,  his  earnestness  and  sincerity  was 
uplifting  to  even  the  dullest  among  his  hearers.  He  was 
painstaking  and  conscientious,  a  godly  man,  and  twenty 
years  was  passed  among  us,  twenty  years,  and  as  he  himself 
said,  "The  best  of  his  life,"  and  who  shall  say  how  much  good 
was  wrought  in  that  time?  The  good  we  cannot  estimate,  it  is 
only  known  to  "Himi  who  readeth  the  heart,"  but  we  do  know 
that  we  passed  through  much  that  was  sad  and  sorrowful.  The 
Civil  War  was  one  thing.  There  was  then  much  division  of 
feeling,  and  much  that  was  bitter  said  and  thought.  It  was  a 
critical  time  for  clergymen,  as  their  words  were  watched,  and 
sometimes  distorted,  and  it  is  much  to  Dr.  Coxe's  credit  that 
he  bore  himself  without  reasonable  blame  through  all  that 
trying  time.  The  long  illness  and  final  death  of  Mrs.  Coxe 
was  also  a  great  trial  to  our  rector,  and  a  loss  to  the  church, 
as  she  was  lovely  in  life  and  character,  and  a  willing  helper  in 
every  good  work. 

Dr.  Cox-e  has  been  called  a  model  clergyman,  and  it  cer- 
tainly seemed  as  though  "In  life  in  death,"  he  was  the  "true 
servant  of  his  Lord."  He  was  sorry  to  leave  us,  but  his  last 
sermon  was  certainly  a  model  one.  There  was  no  word  of 
blame  for  anyone,  but  it  was  full  of  love  and  charity,  and  holy 
resignation  to  God's  will.  Among  other  things,  he  said  if  he 
had  his  life  to  live  over  again,  he  would  "still  wish  it  to  be  the 
life  of  a  clergyman." 

The  congregation  of  Trinity  Church  has  greatly  changed 
since  then,  and  yet  it  seems  not  so  very  long  ago.  In  the  gal- 
lery was  Dr.  Seiboth  at  the  orgjam,  and  he  could  "make  it 
talk,"  and  his  unrivaled  choir  were  Miss  Kate  Lloyd,  Miss 


82  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Emily  Payne,  Miss  Fannie  Green,  Miss  German,  and  the 
gentlemen  were  Mr.  Charles  Foster  and  Mr.  Spruce  and 
others.  Some  of  the  worshipers  and  listeners  to  this  sacred 
and  fine  music  were  the  Comstocks,  both  Miles  and  Edwin, 
and  their  families;  Mr.  Selden  Collins  and  family;  Mr.  Ford 
Green  and  family;  Mr.  Henry  Green  and  family;  Mr.  Thomas 
Francis  and  family;  Mr.  J.  J.  Francis  and  family;  Mr.  Weed 
and  family;  the  Reynolds;  the  Dunns;  the  Spriggs;  Ira 
Chase  and  family;  Mrs.  Brown  and  family;  Mr.  Farwell  and 
family;  Mr.  C.  Hutchinson  and  family;  Dr.  Colling  and  fam- 
ily. In  the  middle  aisle  were  the  Coventrys,  Miss  Louise 
Hart  and  Miss  Hayes;  A.  B.  Johnson  and  family;  David 
Clarkson  and  family;  the  Westcotts;  the  Woodruffs;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dows;  the  Peekhams;  Governor  Seymour  and  family; 
the  Millars;  Roscoe  Conkling  and  family;  Joseph  Shearman 
and  family;  Mr.  Marklove  and  family;  the  Buckinghams; 
Mr.  Seward  and  family,  and  many  others.  Some  of  these 
have  removed  to  other  churches,  or  other  towns,  but  the 
greater  part  have  "past  over  the  bar"  and  joined  the  innumer- 
able throng. 

The  successor  of  Dr.  Coxe  was  Charles  H.  Gardner,  and  he 
filled  the  place  very  acceptably  for  nine  years.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  he  was  called  and  accepted  a  position  of  greater 
responsibility  in  the  Far  West.  While  rector  here,  in  the  year 
1881,  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  this  church  was  held, 
and  he  read  the  historical  address,  taking  the  history  from  the 
beginning  in  1798,  up  to  the  time  of  Dr.  Proal.  Mr.  Gardner 
was  a  man  of  splendid  physique,  and  in  the  prime  of  life,  and 
those  who  knew  him  were  filled  with  surprise  and  deep  regret, 
Jwhen  in  the  summer  of  1896  we  heard  of  his  death  at  Bay 
City,  Wis.  He  too  has  "gone  before,"  and  joined  the  "choir 
invisible." 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  83 

LETTER    FROM    MRS.    ISABELLA   C.    PEAS,    MOHAWK,    N.    Y. 

My  first  recollections  are  of  the  Sunday  School,  held  in 
1828  in  the  church.  The  girls  on  the  east  side,  boys  on  the 
west,  with  each  a  superintendent — Miss  Hathaway,  sister  of 
Mrs.  Samuel  Beardsley,  over  the  girls.  Rev.  Dr.  Anthon 
came  once  down  the  aisle  in  his  black  silk  gown,  speaking  to 
us,  to  our  great  awe.  After  him  came  Dr.  Dorr,  by  whom  we 
were  all  baptized.  I  being  then  six  years  of  age,  remember  the 
service.  Sunday  School  differed  in  some  ways  from  present 
methods.  We  had  two  sessions.  The  first  from  9  to  10:15, 
when  all  children  (except  a  few  who  were  obliged  to  be  at 
home),  went  into  church,  and  remained  to  service.  This  was 
longer  then  than  now.  In  the  first  place  the  Confession, 
Lord's  Prayer  and  Creed,  were  repeated  each  sentence  after 
,the  priest,  and  not  with  him.  No  part  of  the  service  being 
either  shortened  or  omitted,  and  sermons  were  longer  then, 
dare  I  say  stronger? — always  one  doctrinal  sermon  each 
Sunday.  Service  began  at  10:30  A.  M.,  lasting  till  12:30, 
or  often  12:45.  Afternoon  service  at  1:30,  and  one  hour 
of  Sunday  School  from  3  to  4.  We  had  no  rewards  in  the 
way  of  entertainments  or  Christmas  tree.  The  only  thing 
of  the  kind  I  recall  was  a  time  when  Miss  Hathaway  stood 
in  the  vestibule  giving  each  pupil  a  Christmas  cooky.  After 
the  galleries  were  built,  Sunday  School  removed  to  them, 
Dr.  Dorr  giving  instruction  from  the  organ  loft.  I  well  re- 
member the  maps,  with  red  flags  marking  the  cities  of 
refuge.  The  old  canopy  over  the  pulpit  was  a  curiosity 
which  we  likened  to  a  parasol.  When  old  Bishop  Chase, 
very  tall,  with  a  skull-cap  on  his  head,  came  through 
the  small  door  which  admitted  to  the  pulpit,  we  children 
trembled,  fearing  he  might  hit  his  head.  The  church  was 
warmed  a  little  by  a  large  "Nott"  stove,  placed  near  the  west 
door,  the  pipe  running  under    the    gallery  to  the  south  wall. 


84  One  Hundred  Years  of 

The  long  distance  caused  the  accumulation  of  creosote,  so 
that  each  joint  was  ornamented  by  a  tin  pail  to  keep  it  from 
dropping  in  the  pews.  As  it  was  so  cold  many  brought  foot 
stoves.  These  being  made  of  tin  with  perforations  filled  with 
charcoal  may  perhaps  account  for  the  sleepy  state  of  some 
people.  I  well  remember  the  great  gathering  of  clergy  in 
1835  to  discuss  the  division  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  Dr. 
Proal  became  rector  after  Dr.  Dorr,  and  remained  twenty 
years.  He  was  a  good  man  and  a  remarkable  reader.  The 
first  Sunday  in  the  month  all  the  children  gathered  in  the  body 
of  the  church  for  afternoon  service,  and  went  forward,  as  we 
said,  to  be  catechised.  No  better  or  stronger  churchmen  were 
ever  trained  than  there.  After  the  chapel  was  built,  Sunday 
School  and  week  day  services  were  held  in  it.  At  fourteen  I 
became  a  teacher. 

The  large  families  of  Old  Trinity  were  a  pleasant  sight,  and 
pleasant  to  recall.  It  was  not  respectable  to>  stay  away  from 
church  at  that  day,  and  whole  families  came,  father,  mother  and 
children — five  children  an  ordinary  number;  but  there 
were  many  of  seven,  eight,  and  even  ten  children.  Governor 
Seymour's  handsome  face,  sweet  voice  and  courteous  bear- 
ing, is  one  of  the  agreeable  memories  of  the  old  days.  The 
old  bell  must  not  be  forgotten,  as  it  not  only  called  to  church, 
out  warned  of  fires,  lost  children,  and  was  rung  at  9  A.  M., 
12  noon,  and  9  P.  M.  Bishop  Hobart's  solemn  sweet  face, 
Bishop  Onderdonk's  portly  frame  and  resonant  voice,  Bishop 
DeLancey,  a  noble  man  and  perfect  bishop,  are  all  remem- 
bered, as  well  as  many  noted  visiting  clergy,  also  over  300  or 
more  whom  I  can  recall  sitting  in  their  places,  the  most  of 
whom  have  joined  the  silent  majority,  but  whom  I  hope  again 
to  see  worshiping  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  as 
we  learned  to  do  in  Old  Trinity. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  85 

LETTER   FROM   MR.    ROBERT   J.  HUBBARD,    CAZENOVIA,    N.    Y. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  worship  in  Old  Trinity  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  this  year;  I  think  a  century  of  sunshine  and  shadow, 
and  of  earnest  work  for  the  cause  of  the  Master,  entitles  it  to 
be  called  old.  My  memory  of  the  church  and  its  worshipers 
goes  back  half  of  that  period,  and  I  see  clearly  in  my  mind's 
eye  the  building  as  it  then  appeared. 

I  was  baptized  in  the  church  in  the  first  year  of  the  minis- 
tration of  Dr.  Proal,  I  think,  and  I  attended  there  with  my 
parents  until  I  left  Utica  about  1849. 

In  view  of  the  coming  centenary  celebration,  I  am  induced 
to  write  you,  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  for  me  to  give  you  some 
reminiscences  and  a  picture  of  the  building  as  it  existed  fifty 
years  ago.  I  presume,  however,  the  ground  has  been  fully 
gone  over  by  others  who  have  data  at  hand,  while  I  trust  only 
to  memory. 

The  interior  of  the  church  was  radically  different  from  what 
the  eye  rests  upon  now.  The  exterior  is  less  changed.  There 
were  formerly  seven  windows  on  each  side.  Alternate  win- 
dows were  filled  in,  at  a  date  I  cannot  recall,  leaving  four  at 
each  side  as  at  present  shown.  There  were  green  blinds  to 
the  windows,  if  I  mistake  not,  for  the  glass  was  clear  and  in 
square  panes.  The  spire  was  always  as  graceful  as  it  is  now, 
and  the  arrow,  to  show  the  direction  of  the  wind,  was  con- 
sidered of  fine  proportions.  I  have  heard  it  said,  rather  in 
sport  than  derision,  that  the  weather  vane  on  Trinity  shifted 
with  "Every  wind  of  doctrine."  True!  But  it  looked  the  evil 
winds  squarely  in  the  teeth  until  they  had  blown  passed,  leav- 
ing die  church  of  which  it  was  the  titular  guardian,  stanch 
and  firm  on  its  foundations  as  it  at  present  stands.  The  Sun- 
day School  room  or  chapel  formerly  faced  on  Broad  Street,  at 
the  east  side  of  the  church.  While  the  changes  on  the  exterior 
of  the  building  have  been  but  few,  the  interior,  alas!  has  been 
dispoiled  of  its  ancient  dignity. 


86  One  Hundred  Years  of 

The  vestibule  was  ample,  extending  entirely  across  the  front 
of  the  building.  There  was  a  huge  wood-stove  here,  and  as  a 
boy,  I  used  to  go  early  to  church  in  cold  weather  and  get  my 
mother's  foot  stove  from  the  pew  and  bring  it  to  the  vestibule 
for  fresh,  live  coals,  which  Mr.  Archer,  the  sexton,  had  ready 
in  abundance.  The  bell  rope  hung  down  in  the  vestibule,  and 
sometimes  I  was  allowed  to  pull  it  at  the  tolling  of  the  bell, 
much  to  my  delight. 

Two  doors  opened  from  the  vestibule  into  the  church. 
There  were  but  two  aisles  at  the  sides,  just  under  the  galleries. 

The  pews  were  straight  in  the  back,  and  high.  About  half- 
way down  the  aisles,  at  right  angles  to  them,  were  others  run- 
ning to  the  side  walls,  so  as  to  give  a  series  of  pews  lengthwise 
with  the  building.  There  were  two  of  these  aisles  on  each  side, 
and  my  father's  was  the  wall  pew,  giving  us  a  fine  view  of  the 
whole  congregation.  The  gallery  was  over  our  heads,  and  at 
that  time  extended  to  the  rear  wall  of  the  building.  The  gal- 
leries were  fairly  well  filled  with  worshipers,  and  it  was  a  treat 
for  the  boys  to  be  allowed  to  sit  in  them  on  occasion,  and  look 
down  on  the  congregation. 

The  color  of  the  walls  and  wood  work  of  the  church  was 
white. 

But  now  comes  the  most  marvellous  change  from  the 
original!  Formerly  there  was  no  chancel.  The  south  wall  of 
the  church  was  strikingly  effective,  and  although  such  church 
architecture  was  common  a  century  ago,  it  can  hardly  be 
found  or  recommended  now.  The  pulpit,  of  the  "candle-stick" 
order,  stood  against  the  wall  so*  high  up  that  the  preacher 
could  cast  his  eyes  along  the  occupants  of  the  galleries.  This 
pulpit  was  entered  by  a  small  door  through  the  rear  wall,  the 
stairs  being  concealed.  It  was  a  mystery  to  the  developing 
mind  of  a  child,  how  the  minister  in  a  white  surplice  should  so 
suddenly  disappear  and  re-appear  in  the  pulpit  in  a  black 
gown! 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  87 

Below  the  pulpit  was  the  reading  desk,  formed  in  a  semi- 
circle around  its  base,  and  below  was  the  communion  table, 
surrounded  by  the  chancel  rail. 

None  of  the  paraphernalia  now  required  in  a  modern  sanct- 
uary was  visible.  Without  chancel,  screen,  altar  or  super- 
altar,  reredos,  dorsel,  candle-stick  or  gilded  cross.  Without 
these  and  other  important  features,  how  should  we  get  along 
now? 

There  was  communion  but  once  a  month,  and  the  Sunday 
immediately  preceding,  the  solemn  exhortation  was  invariably 
read  and  generally  in  full.  I  am  old-fashioned  enough  in  my 
notions  to  feel  its  helpfulness,  and  regret  it  has  gone  so  much 
out  of  use.  The  sermon  too  on  the  Sunday  before  the  com- 
munion was  especially  adapted  to  induce  meditations  during 
the  week  on  the  spiritual  comfort  of  the  Lord's  supper. 

The  gallery  at  the  north  end  of  the  church,  now  so  bare, 
was  filled  with  a  remarkably  fine  organ,  and  the  case  was 
something  to  be  proud  of. 

I  remember  among  other  things  of  lesser  note  the  chan- 
deliers— the  one  that  hung  in  the  centre,  in  particular.  It  was 
of  crystal  and  very  chaste.  The  lights  were  candles,  I  think. 
The  chain  suspending  it  from  the  ceiling  was  something  mar- 
velous in  my  youthful  eyes.  So  were  the  bright  cushions,  and 
especially  the  tassels  on  desk  and  pulpit. 

My  picture  would  not  be  complete  without  re-inhabiting  the 
old  building  with  worshipers.  Alas!  alas!  it  takes  me  back  to 
my  youth,  and  in  my  memory  it  seems  but  as  yesterday. 

Bishop  DeLancey  was  our  spiritual  head,  and  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  my  father's  house.  The  Reverend  Dr.  Rudd, 
long  editor  of  the  "Gospel  Messenger,"  was  an  attendant  at 
church,  and  the  Rev.  Pierre  Alexis  Proal,  D.  D.,  was  our 
Rector. 

From  the  pew  of  my  father,  Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  I  could 
see  before  me  the  congregation  as  it  generally  was,  although 


88  One  Hundred  Years  of 

my  memory  may  sometimes  be  at  fault.  There  were,  with 
their  families;  Judge  Hiram  Denio,  Dr.  C.  B.  Coventry,  Hiram 
Greenman,  Prof.  Prentice,  John  A.  Russ,  Nicholas  Devereux, 
Henry  Green,  Joseph  Shearman,  John  Green,  Job  Stafford,  A. 
G.  Dauby,  Rudolph  Snyder,  John  Butterfield,  A.  B.  Johnson, 
George  Green,  Z.  Lyon,  E.  A.  Graham,  P.  Lyon,  William 
Baker,  Thomas  Hopper,  J.  J.  Francis,  Thomas  Colling,  Martin 
Hart,  E.  B.  Shearman,  Alfred  Munson,  Dr.  John  McCall, 
Montgomery  Hunt,  Judge  Samuel  Beardsley,  Isaiah  Tiffany, 
Henry  G.  Hubbard,  Col.  John  E.  Hinman,  Horatio  Seymour, 
J.  S.  Peekham,  Frederick  Hollister,  John  G.  Floyd,  Harvey 
Barnard,  Simeon  Oley,  Ami  Dows,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Judge 
Aaron  Hackley,  Edward  McVickar,  the  family  of  Com. 
Woolsey,  Ward  Hunt,  T.  O.  Grannis,  Charles  H.  Doolittle, 
Selden  Collins,  Montgomery  Throop,  M.  Comstock,  George 
Bristol. 

Some  of  these  may  be  mis-placed,  and  there  are  others  I 
cannot  recall,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  congregation  was 
large  fifty  years  ago,  and  composed  of  many  men  of  sterling 
worth. 


SOME  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  RIGHT  REVER- 
END PHILANDER  CHASE,  LL.D.,   FIRST  BISH- 
OP OF  OHIO  AND  ILLINOIS. 

BY  HIS  SON,   THE  REV.   DUDLEY  CHASE,   RETIRED  CHAPLAIN, 
U.  S.  A.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Unity  in  faith  and  fellowship,  is  one  mark  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  If  one  member  is  faithful  should  not  all  rejoice? 
Nor  should  one  be  exalted  to  the  disparagement  of  another, 
not  forgetting  that  it  takes  many  soldiers  to  make  an  army, 
and  to  God  belongs  the  glory  of  accepted  services.  This  in- 
teresting occasion  brings  before  me,  among  others,  the  name 
of  Philander  Chase.    As  his  son,  I  am,  requested  to  give  a  few 


RT.  REV.  PHILANDER  CHASE,  L.  L.  D., 
Founder  of  'this  Parish  in  /jgS.    First  Bislwp  of  Ohio  and  Illinois. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  89 

personal  recollections  of  him.  Lest  this  should  seem  aimless 
and  unprofitable,  let  us  give  God  the  praise,  and  consider  that 
he  was  raised  up  as  a  fit  instrument  for  a  great  work  for  the 
extension  of  his  church  in  this  land.  In  this  regard  his  his- 
tory belongs  to  the  east  and  to  the  west.  I  ask  your  atten- 
tion in  his  case  to  special  providences  and  special  qualifications 
for  a  great  work  in  the  then  future,  in  the  then  far  west.  His 
early  ministry  has  a  special  interest  to  you,  as  the  training 
for  it  began  here,  as  also  it  may  be  said  of  many  others.  In 
the  early  days  New  York  as  a  Diocese  or  City  was  the  nur- 
sery for  the  young  soldiers  of  the  cross. 

A  broken  limb,  a  sick  bed,  was  however  painful,  a  special 
providence  to  turn  youthful  desires  and  designs  from  pastoral 
to  spiritual  life,  and  to  serve  God  as  a  minister.  A  passing 
missionary  taking  an  interest  in  a  student  at  college,  leaves 
with  him  a  Prayer  Book  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  in 
turn  hands  it  to  his  venerable  father  as  an  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, "Why  have  you  changed  your  intention  and  my  expecta- 
tion that  you  should  prepare  for  the  ministry  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church."  The  missive  did  its  work;  the  seed  bore  fruit; 
the  large  family  were  its  first  fruits,  and  these  multiplied  as 
they  did.  Who  can  estimate  the  combined  interest  of  that 
simple  venture  of  faith  in  spiritual  good  and  growth  during 
the  century  past? 

A  would-be  student  of  divinity,  seeking  for  a  theological 
seminary,  and  finding  none,  after  weary  days  of  foot-travel, 
re-crossing  the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont,  and  with  but  a 
few  shillings  in  his  pocket,  knocks  at  the  door  of  the  learned 
and  good  Dr.  Ellison  of  Albany,  N.  Y.  That  gentleman  in 
answering  the  knock  searches  the  countenance  of  the  youth. 
"My  name  is  Ellison  and  I  crave  yours."  It  was  no  timid  soul 
replied,  "I  seek  advice  in  order  to  enter  the  ministry'  of  the 
Episcopal  Church."  It  was  a  warm  heart  that  answered  "God 
bless  you,  walk  in." 


90  One  Hundred  Years  of 

In  both  cases  prayers  and  providence  meet,  and  say  this  is  a 
God-sent  opportunity,  improve  it.  Was  not  this  done  with  a 
grateful  heart  and  earnest  zeal?  The  good  Doctor  offered 
free  use  of  his  library  and  his  valuable  advice  and  instruction 
in  theological  studies,  and  moreover  his  influence  in  procuring 
the  position  as  teacher  in  the  city  school  with  salary.  As 
Deacon  the  youth  now  becomes  a  missionary  in  Western  New 
York  under  the  broad  seal  of  Bishop  Provoost;  and  a  whole 
year  is  passed  in  such  labors,  mostly  on  horse  back.  During 
his  journeys  Utica  is  reached,  and  as  far  south  as  the  Dela- 
ware River,  and  as  far  west  as  Auburn.  But  here  he  found 
no  road  or  inhabitant  beyond  the  Wanta  Plains  to  the  Niagara 
River.  The  year's  travel  ended  at  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  was 
called  as  rector.  Here  he  resided  for  six  years,  and  added 
to  his  duties  by  teaching  a  school.  As  school  teacher 
and  missionary-  in  the  new  settlement,  in  New  York,  was  he 
not  being  prepared  for  more  extensive  similar  duties  in  the 
far  west?  In  response  to  a  call  for  ministers  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  from  New  Orleans,  Bishop  Moore  appointed  Philan- 
der Chase,  and  there  under  the  auspices  of  the  Diocese  of  New 
York  Christ  Church,  New  Orleans,  was  duly  organized  by 
his  efforts,  and  he  remained  their  rector  six  years.  There 
/also,  in  consequence  of  the  wreck  of  all  his  effects  in  transit 
by  sea,  financial  embarassments  led  him  to  organize  a  school 
for  boys  and  girls,  and  this  he  maintained  during  his  residence 
there,  to  large  profit  financially  to  himself  and  to  vastly  more 
spiritual  profit  to  his  pupils,  as  years  afterwards  was  manifest 
when  he  visited  the  planters'  families  in  Mississippi  and  Louis- 
iana. Returning  north  he  became  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Hartford,  and  remained  with  them  six  years,  to  1817.  Of 
this  period  of  years,  he  says,  "In  the  bosom  of  an  enlightened 
society,  softened  by  the  hand  of  urbanity  and  gentleness,  my 
engagements  crowned  with  abundance  of  temporal  bless- 
ings, were  as  numerous  and  refined     as     fall    in  the  lot  of 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  91 

man."  Was  it  not  of  the  Spirit  of  God  that  during  his  year 
here  there  came  over  the  lakes  and  mountains  and  through 
the  forests  of  Ohio  from  the  scattered  sheep  of  Christ  the  cry 
"come  over  and  help  us." 

Hence  that  wanderer's  journey,  that  perilous  venture  from 
point  to  point  on  the  ice  of  Lake  Erie.  Those  three  months 
on  horse  back  from  the  northeast  corner  of  the  State  of  Ohio 
to  the  extreme  southwest  through  the  forest,  and  over  the 
unbridged  streams,  visiting  all  the  prominent  places  and  very 
many  hamlets,  preaching  the  word  of  God.  and  organizing 
parishes,  and  then  resolving  to  make  that  land  of  promise, 
as  he  called  it,  his  future  home,  for  had  not  the  few  faithful 
ministers  and  members  received  him  as  one  sent  of  God  to 
cheer  their  drooping  hearts  and  soon  recognized  him  as 
being  by  nature  and  grace  a  leader  of  men,  and  therefore 
chose  him  for  their  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  God.  To  fulfill 
this  end  he  must  needs  mount  again  the  faithful  horse,  and 
proceed  over  the  rivers  and  mountains  in  the  dead  of  win- 
ter from  Columbus,  Ohio,  to  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  where  in  due 
order,  with  some  painful  delay,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop 
by  the  hands  of  the  venerable  Bishop  White,  Bishops 
Hobart,  Kemp  and  Croes  being  present  and  assisting,  in 
the  old  St.  James  Church,  Philadelphia,  on  the  nth  day  of 
February,  1819.  On  his  return  it  took  a  week  to  reach  Pitts- 
burg, and  the  ice  and  slippery  roads  disabled  the  horse,  and 
caused  its  exchange  for  a  younger  and  stronger  one.  I  can- 
not now  of  course  fully  follow  in  such  a  brief  sketch  his  life 
and  labors  during  the  fourteen  years  of  his  Episcopacy  in 
Ohio,  or  the  seventeen  in  Illinois,  which  succeeded,  but  I 
have  led  your  thoughts  down  to  the  very  earliest  period  of 
my  personal  recollections  of  him. 

I  shall  first  recollect  a  circumstance  somewhat  isolated  in 
my  memory.  We  were  traveling  to  Cincinnati  through  the 
dense  forests.     We  were  coming  to  a  village  on  July  4,  and 


92  One  Hundred  Years  of 

as  we  passed  through  we  saw  men  carousing  and  fighting. 
The  bishop  said  we  will  drive  on.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  then  a 
student  and  inmate  of  the  bishop's  house,  the  bishop's  wife, 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Sparrow  were  in  the  wagon.  We  continued 
on  through  the  village,  and  came  to  a  place  where  the  road 
was  impassable.  We  went  into  the  mud  and  ruts,  and  down 
,we  went  on  the  right  side.  The  bishop  and  the  young  men 
had  to  jump  in  the  mud  and  release  the  horse.  Salmon  Chase 
cut  a  pole  and  pried  up  the  wagon,  and  Dr.  Sparrow  was  told 
to  go  on  and  feel  the  road  for  the  horse  to  follow.  Soi  we 
went  on.  By  and  by  we  saw  a  light,  and  never  did  one  look 
more  welcome.  There  was  a  warm-hearted  farmer  there 
who  was  willing  to  take  in  some  dirty  guests.  The  excite- 
ment of  the  trip  made  the  bishop  sick.  But  that  was  only 
an  adventure. 

His  Work  in  the  West. 

When  we  lived  in  Cincinnati  the  bishop  went  to  England 
to  obtain  money  to  build  a  divinity  school  for  those  who 
lived  in  the  woods  of  Ohio.  Bishop  Hobart  said  he  would 
.oppose  him,  as  it  was  not  necessary  to  build  a  school  in 
Ohio.  Christians,  however,  come  together  after  God  has  tried 
them.  Bishop  Chase  returned  with  $30,000.  He  waited 
two  years  before  the  committee  could  locate  that  school. 
They  gave  nothing  in  Ohio;  even  no  location  for  the  school. 
At  Zanesville  the  bishop  met  Miss  Reed,  a  good  woman, 
who  offered  him  1,000  acres  of  land  for  a  seminary  site.  She 
had  confidence  in  the  bishop.  The  deed  was  made  out,  and 
the  land  given  to  him  in  trust.  The  bishop  invited  the 
woodsmen  to  come  to  a  chopping  bee.  He  said  he  could 
chop  ten  acres  at  once.  The  chopping  bee  was  opened  with 
prayer,  and  the  choppers  were  organized  in  platoons.  For 
two  or  three  days  I  was  present  and  saw  the  trees  chopped 
down  and  burned  to  ashes.    The  committee  said  the  seminary 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y .  93 

should  be  placed  away  from,  the  cities,  or  the  bishop  would  re- 
ceive no  money.  Then  he  was  offered  8,000  acres  of  land 
where  Kenyon  College  now  stands,  and  the  committee  could 
only  accept  it.  The  bishop  mortgaged  his  farm  for  all  it 
was  worth,  and  the  country  was  opened  for  the  seminary. 
Every  winter  he  went  east  for  money;  but  did  Ohio  rise  to 
his  assistance?  They  said  he  was  a  tyrant;  but  did  they 
come  and.  offer  him  assistance?  He  gave  all  the  means  he 
had  for  that  work. 

Then  he  went  to  Wellington  and  became  president  of  the 
school.  Then  he  went  to  a  place  called  the  "end  of  the  road," 
and  then  to  Michigan,  where  he  bought  a  farm  with  money 
which  his  brother  had  given  him.  I  was  then  sent  to  col- 
lege. 

Once  he  went  to  Chester,  111.,  on  the  Mississippi  river. 
One  Sunday  morning  a  man  visited  him  and  said  he  was  an 
atheist,  and  wanted  to  argue  atheism.  The  man  said  the 
bishop  had  baptized  him,  and  then  the  bishop  gave  him  a 
combing  down.  He  wept  and  broke  down,  and  finally  said 
he  had  no  argument  about  atheism.  When  the  bishop  had 
a  good  cause  he  pressed  it  to  the  utmost.  The  bishop  never 
tfold  a  story  but  he  drove  the  nail  home.  The  bishop  had 
one  good  habit ;  he  would  thrust  the  Bible  home  to  individuals. 

Rev.  Mr.  Chase  then  exhibited  three  relics  of  his  father, 
which  he  highly  prizes.  One  was  the  official  seal  of  Bishop 
Provoost  to  the  ordination  certificate  of  Bishop  Chase,  signed 
in  1799,  and  the  other  was  the  consecration  paper  of  the 
bishop,  signed  by  Bishops  William  White,  John  H.  Hobart, 
J.  A.  Kemp  and  John  Croes,  dated  February  11,  1819.  Both 
documents  were  well  preserved.  The  other  was  a  prayer 
book,  dated  1841,  which  was  used  by  the  bishop  from  that 
date  until  his  death.  Then  it  came  in  possession  of  his  son. 
The  prayer  book,  Rev.  Mr.  Chase  said,  had  a  history.     Near 


94  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Galena,  111.,  the  bishop  had  to  ford  a  stream,  and  the  bishop, 
in  his  wagon,  was  soaked.  The  bishop  opened  his  trunk, 
and  everything  in  it  was  soaked  but  the  prayer  book.  The 
prayer  book  was  saved  by  being  lifted  up  by  the  air  in  the 
trunk.  The  speaker  said  he  had  carried  the  prayer  book 
ever  since  the  bishop's  death. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH. 


BY  DR.  MOSES  M.  BAGG,   UTICA,  N.  Y. 

For  the  honor  done  me  in  asking  me  to  take  part  in  the 
exercises  pertaining  to  the  celebration  of  the  Centenary  of 
Trinity  Church,  I  am  truly  grateful,  especially  as  I  have  never 
borne  other  relation  to  the  church  than  that  of  occasional  at- 
tendance on  its  services,  and  have  no  other  qualification  en- 
titling me  to  the  privilege  of  addressing  you  than  a  partial 
knowledge  of  its  early  history,  and  my  own  survival  of  the 
vast  majority  of  those,  who*  if  living,  would  have  more  natural- 
ly been  called  on  for  words  of  congratulation  and  sympathy. 

My  earliest  reminiscence  of  the  church  dates  from  the  era 
of  the  abandonment  of  the  Mohawk,  and  the  substitution  of 
the  canal  as  a  channel  for  navigation  through  the  middle  of 
the  State.  It  was  about  this  time  that  I  remember  to  have 
seen  a  large  boat  dragged  laboriously  through  the  mud  along 
the  western  side  of  this  building,  in  the  course  of  its  transfer 
from  the  river  to  the  canal.  But  this  was  not  until  after  a 
generation  of  citizens  had  already  been  made  familiar  with  the 
building  and  its  surroundings. 

The  beginning  of  the  parish  organization  dates  from  1798, 
when  the  Episcopalians  of  the  hamlet  were  gathered  into  a 
society  by  a  missionary  of  the  church,  then  temporarily  resi- 
dent, who  persuaded  them  to  meet  every  Sunday,  and  to  have 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  95 

read  to  them  by  a  layman,  sermons  and  the  prayers  of  the 
Church.  His  counsel  was  followed,  and  meetings  were  held 
in  the  school-house  on  Main  Street,  occupied  in  turn  by  the 
denominations  of  the  village.  The  movement  toward  the  erec- 
tion of  an  edifice  of  their  own,  its  construction  and  dedication, 
the  engagement  of  a  rector,  as  well  as  subsequent  chapters  in 
its  history,  I  leave  to  be  treated  in  detail  by  others  more  famil- 
iar with  the  story  than  I  am. 

We  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  as  we  learn  of  the  serious 
embarassments  encountered  during  the  earlier  years  of  the 
parish,  of  the  arduous  labors  of  the  rectors  who  would  seem 
to  have  been  cumbered  with  more  missionary  work  outside 
of  the  parish  than  they  experienced  within  it,  with  the  trials  of 
the  congregation  compelled  to  occupy  a  building  which  was 
but  half  finished,  and  unattractive,  in  the  winter  seasons  so 
comfortless  as  to  oblige  them  to  go  elsewhere  to  worship, 
and  to  depend  for  their  music  on  a  hand  organ  managed  by  its 
maker. 

Of  the  characteristics  of  Trinity  during  its  long  continued 
existence,  I  have  but  a  few  words  to  say.  The  unbroken  har- 
mony, the  sedate  and  peaceful  dignity  with  which  its  affairs 
have  been  conducted  have  been  a  marked  feature  in  its  career, 
a  contrast  with  that  of  some  of  the  congregations  of  Utica  and 
its  vicinity.  Few  disturbing  elements  have  arisen,  whether 
from  within  or  without,  to  break  the  even  tenor  of  its  ways, 
or  if  any  nave  existed,  it  has  been  unknown  to  our  people  at 
large.  The  rectors  have  been  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  the  members  of  the  parish  have  been  true  to  their  rec- 
tors, considerate  of  the  obligations  due  them,  and  mindful  of 
the  instruction  imparted.  While  the  society  was  young  and 
few  in  numbers,  it  has  shared  with  other  societies  of  the  town 
and  county  in  charitable  and  religious  enterprises  designed  for 
the  public  good.     When    its    numbers    increased,  and    their 


gG  One  Hundred  Years  of 

means  were  greater,  they  have  felt  it  their  duty  to  embark  in 
charities  of  their  own.  The  leading  officers  of  the  Oneida 
County  Bible  Society,  which  had  its  origin  in  1810,  were  found 
alike  among  the  Episcopalians  and  the  adherents  of  other  de- 
"nominations.  Not  more  than  a  year  or  two  had  elapsed  be- 
fore the  former  had  a  Bible  Society  of  their  own,  as  wide  in 
its  range,  and  as  energetic  in  purpose  as  the  first  had  been. 
The  Utica  Orphan  Society,  begun  by  ladies  of  various  sects, 
and  fostered  by  the  general  care,  was  favored  ere  long  by  one 
who  had  been  a  member  of  Trinity,  with  an  endowment  that 
exceeded  all  previous  donations.  In  schemes  for  educational 
advancement,  for  progress  in  missions,  in  biblical  instruction 
of  the  young,  and  in  encouragement  of  associations  among 
them  to  stimulate  religious  activity  and  conduct,  a  like  gen- 
erous rivalry  has  been  manifest.  Though  the  present  remote- 
ness of  Trinity  from  very  many  of  its  former  parishioners  has 
caused  it  serious  loss,  there  is  rapidly  growing  on  its  eastern 
and  south-eastern  borders  a  population  which  needs  its  min- 
istrations, and  cannot  fail  to  prolong  its  healthful  influence. 


SOME  PROMINENT  LAYMEN   OF  TRINITY 
CHURCH. 


WRITTEN    BY    MISS    BLANDINA  D.   MILLER,   UTICA,   N.   T.,   AND 
READ    BY    MR.    GEORGE    M.    WEAVER,      JUNIOR     WAR- 
DEN OF  THE  PARISH. 

The  year  1798  was  destined  to  be  forever  memorable  in  the 
annals  of  Utica.  By  an  Act  which  passed  the  Legislature  on 
the  fifteenth  of  March,  1798,  Oneida  was  set  off  from  Herki- 
mer County,  and  on  the  third  of  April  of  the  same  year,  the 
little  village  which  had  hitherto  held  the  historic  name  of  Fort 
Schuyler  was  incorporated  and  received  its  first  charter  under 
the  name  of  Utica. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  97 

If  current  records  may  be  credited,  we  were  trebly  defrauded 
of  historic  names;  not  only  were  the  people  required  to  give 
up  a  name  so  high  in  honor  throughout  the  State,  but  the 
proposed  names  of  Skenondo  and  Washington  were  also  re- 
jected. As  many  of  the  early  settlers  were  from  England  the 
name  of  Kent  was  proposed  and  so  strongly  advocated  that  it 
doubtless  would  have  been  adopted  but  for  the  untimely  ridi- 
cule of  a  citizen  by  the  name  of  Little  who  afterwards  drowned 
himself.  A  feeling  of  regret  rises  spontaneously  that  this  event 
had  not  preceded  the  meeting  to  settle  upon  a  name  for  this 
small  village. 

In  this  year  of  1798  in  faith  and  humility  were  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  Parish  of  Trinity  Church.  A  link  was 
added  to  the  chain  which  would  connect  this  hamlet  with  the 
broader  church  life  in  New  York  City,  and  which  would  bring 
up  into  this  almost  unknown  territory  many  distinguished  men 
among  our  Bishops  and  Clergy,  whose  influence  and  teach- 
ings were  to  have  no  small  share  in  molding  the  lives  and 
forming  the  characters  of  our  people.  For  the  birth  place  of 
this  honored  parish  we  must  leave  the  pleasant  shaded  precincts 
of  Broad  Street,  and  entering  Main  Street  between  First 
and  Second  Streets,  seek  on  the  south  side  for  a  large  wooden 
building,  which  has  seen  the  beginnings  of  both  church  and 
educational  life  in  Utica.  Originally  built  for  a  school  it  was 
used  on  alternate  Sundays  for  religious  services  by  both  Pres- 
byterians and  Episcopalians.  The  pulpit  consisted  of  a  slab  or 
shelf  of  wood  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  building.  The  seats 
were  actual  slabs  of  rough  boards  without  any  backs,  and 
resting  on  legs  inserted  in  auger  holes,  a  few  of  them  were  a 
little  more  carefully  finished.  The  room  was  very  imperfectly 
heated  by  a  box  stove,  the  counterpart  of  the  one  which  stood 
for  many  years  in  front  of  the  Roberts'  store  at  the  corner  of 
Broad  and  Genesee  Streets.  In  this  building  was  held  the  first 
services  of  Trinity  Church. 


98  One  Hundred  Years  of 

In  1798  the  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Il- 
linois, was  missionary  for  all  this  region,  and  in  the  course  of 
his  travels  stopped  at  the  little  village  of  Utica,  where  the 
stumps  of  the  original  forest  trees  were  still  standing  in  the 
three  streets  (if  streets  they  could  be  called  when  only  two 
were  fenced  out),  Genesee,  Main  and  Whitesboro.  He  was 
courteously  received  by  Colonel  Benjamin  Walker,  who  was 
then  living  in  a  small  tenement  house,  previous  to  building  at 
the  eastern  end  of  Broad  Street,  the  house  which  was  for  many 
years  the  most  luxuriously  equipped  mansion  in  this  vicinity. 
To  his  high  military  honors  as  a  member  of  General  Washing- 
ton's staff  and  aid-de-camp  to  Baron  Von  Steuben,  must  now 
be  added  the  fame  of  having  been  the  first  and  most  generous 
patron  of  Trinity  Church.  An  Englishman  by  birth,  a  pew 
owner  and  communicant  of  Trinity  Church  in  New  York  City, 
he  was  strongly  attached  to  the  mother  Church,  and  it  was 
owing  to  his  timely  aid  and  encouragement  that  the  Parish 
under  the  name  of  the  Rector  and  Wardens  of  Trinity  Church, 
Utica,  was  now  organized.  But  for  some  years  the  few  Church 
of  England  people  met,  without  any  clergyman,  and  read  for 
themselves  the  familiar  petitions  and  prayers  of  their  Liturgy. 

If  proof  were  needed  of  the  deep,  earnest  feeling  which  per- 
vades every  line  of  our  incomparable  Prayer  Book,  or  the  true 
value  of  a  form  of  devotion,  none  more  striking  could  be  given 
than  an  instance  like  this,  and  no  better  refutation  of  the 
charge  that  its  Litanies  are  merely  cold  and  formal  "vain  re- 
petitions." To  these  English  Christians  the  well  known  pray- 
ers came  like  a  voice  from  home  in  a  strange  land;  and  the 
fact  that  the  Church  was  henceforth  to  form  a  part  of  their 
new  home  doubtless  served  to  attract  and  retain  many  of  our 
best  settlers. 

In  1803,  the  Presbyterians  who  had  shared  the  use  of  the 
building  on  Sundays  with  our  people  decided  to  call  the  Rev. 
Bethuel  Dodd  from  Whitesboro  to  assume  permanent  charge 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  99 

and  hold  two  services  every  Sunday.  This  threw  the  little  con- 
gregation into  temporary  difficulties,  and  it  was  not  until  1803 
that  definite  steps  were  taken  towards  building  a  church  of 
their  own.  Rutger  Bleecker  of  Albany,  one  of  the  four  origin- 
al purchasers  of  Cosby  Manor,  which  includes  the  tract  where 
the  City  of  Utica  now  stands,  had  promised  to  give  the  site 
for  the  first  church  that  should  be  built.  On  the  24th  of  May, 
1803,  a  meeting  was  held,  and  Col.  Walker,  Abram  Walton 
and  William  Inman  were  appointed  a  committee  to  solicit  sub- 
scriptions, and  raised  over  two  thousand  dollars  towards  the 
building  of  a  church  whose  cost  was  estimated  at  four  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  which  was  designed  by  the  architect  Philip 
Hooker  of  Albany,  the  builder  of  the  old  Capitol,  the  Albany 
Female  Academy,  and  other  stately  structures.  Certainly  this 
was  a  generous  amount  when  the  small  population  of  Utica  at 
that  time  is  considered.  In  1798,  Dr.  Dwight  estimated  the 
number  of  houses  in  the  village  at  fifty.  In  1801  the  popula- 
tion was  two  hundred  souls.  In  1804,  Dr.  Dwight  found  one 
hundred  and  twenty  houses,  and  a  long  train  of  merchant 
stores  and  other  buildings.  In  1793,  five  years  before  the 
founding  of  the  Parish,  Jason  Parker's  stage  coach  brought 
six  letters  to  the  people  in  old  Fort  Schuyler  in  one  day,  a  fact 
which  could  scarcely  be  credited  until  vouched  for  by  the  vera- 
cious Dutch  postmaster,  John  Post. 

The  list  of  the  original  subscribers  to  Trinity  Church  pre- 
sents such  a  remarkable  array  of  the  men  who  were  very 
prominently  associated  with  the  history  of  early  Utica,  that  it 
has  seemed  of  more  value  to  gather  some  of  the  striking  events 
in  their  lives  from  the  different  historical  records  of  City  and 
County,  and  from  the  lips  of  those  still  living  among  us,  whose 
memories  of  the  past  are  still  fresh  and  vivid,  than  to  attempt 
a  cursory  glance  of  the  whole  century  of  her  existence. 

The  subscription  list  embraces  the  names  among  others  of 
B.  Walker,  $250;  Abraham  M.  Walton,  $200;  William  Inman, 


ioo  One  Hundred  Years  of 

$150;  Bryan  Johnson,  $150;  John  Smith,  $125;  Jeremiah  Van 
Renselear,  $50;  John  Post,  $50;  Samuel  Hooker,  $50;  James 
A.  Bloodgood,  $50;  John  Schwartz,  $25;  Silas  Hamlin,  $20; 
James  Hopper,  $100;  Aylmer  Johnson,  $100;  Mathew  Codd, 
$100;  Nathan  Williams,  $100;  John  C.  Devereux,  $100;  John 
Hooker,  $50;  Hugh  White,  $50;  Peter  Smith,  $50;  Jonas  Piatt, 
$25;  Thomas  R.  Gold,  $25;  Ch.  C.  Broadhead,  $25;  William 
Inman  for  W.  R.,  $25;  Charles  L.  Pratt,  $20;  Wm.  G.  Tracy, 
$20;  A.  Johnson  for  H.  O.,  $10;  John  Curtis,  $12.50;  Amos 
Brenson,  $10;  David  Trowbridge,  $10;  Frederic  White,  $10; 
Amos  Eggleston,  $10;  Marcus  Hitchcock,  $20;  Nathan  But- 
ler, $20;  Charles  Walton,  $20;  Hugh  White,  Jr.,  $10;  Elizur 
Mosely,  $10;  Preserved  Hickox,  $10;  P.  S.  Soillon,  $5;  Thom- 
as Jones,  $5,  the  total  amount  subscribed  was  $2,067.50.  With 
this  amount  subscribed  and  the  lot  given,  Col.  Walker,  Mr. 
Inman  and  Judge  Nathan  Williams  accepted  the  plans  de- 
signed by  Samuel  and  John  Hooker,  and  in  June,  1803,  the 
building  was  commenced,  to  proceed  until  the  subscriptions 
were  exhausted,  when  it  was  hoped,  with  the  aid  of  further 
subscriptions,  and  gifts  from  Trinity  Church  in  New  York,  it 
might  be  completed.  The  lot  was  100  feet  on  Broad  Street, 
and  127  feet  deep.  The  church  as  originally  built  stood  back 
in  the  field  or  lot,  and  was  entered  through  what  was  called 
Church  Lane,  now  First  Street,  by  taking  down  the  bars  of  a 
fence  that  enclosed  the  whole  lot.  Corn  was  at  times  planted 
in  the  yard,  and  the  approach  to  the  door  of  the  church  was 
through  a  leafy  lane  of  Indian  corn.  On  a  village  map  in  1806, 
Trinity  Church  is  represented  as  standing  quite  alone  in  the 
rear  of  some  houses  on  Main  Street.  Broad  Street  was  not 
laid  out  until  1808,  and  this  rural  church  might  well  have  been 
called  Trinity-in-the-fields.  Its  first  Wardens  were  Abraham 
Walton  and  Nathan,  afterwards  Judge  Williams. 

The  first  Vestrymen  were  William  Inman,  Charles  Walton, 
John  Smith,  Benjamin  Walker,  Samuel  Hooker,  Aylmer  John- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  101 

son,  James  Hopper,  Edward  Smith.  Their  successors  were 
worthy  to  succeed  them.  The  list  includes  name  after  name 
'of  men  pre-eminent  in  the  various  walks  of  life  in  the  little 
village,  and  later  in  the  City  of  Utica,  while  some  of  them  be- 
longed to  the  history  of  our  country.  As  the  eye  rests  on  the 
names  of  Thomas  Hubbard,  Montgomery  Hunt,  Samuel 
Beardsley,  Augustus  G.  Dauby,  Ward  Hunt,  Henry  Seymour, 
and  his  son  Horatio  Seymour,  Hiram  Denio,  Charles  B. 
Coventry,  Morris  S.  Miller,  and  his  son  Rutger  D.  Miller, 
Thomas  R.  Colling,  John  E.  Hinman,  Ziba  Lyon,  John  J. 
Francis,  Hugh  Crocker,  Selden  Collins,  Van  Vechten  Living- 
ston, Henry  Green,  John  G.  Markiove,  James  M.  Weed,  Miles 
C.  Comstock  and  Edmund  A.  Graham,  it  will  be  seen  how 
many  active,  useful  citizens,  as  well  as  men  of  brilliant  talents, 
have  been  identified  with  this  Church.  From  its  very  begin- 
ning it  has  been  most  fortunate  in  the  character  and  ability 
of  its  laymen;  who,  amid  the  manifold  duties  and  occupations 
incident  to  life  in  a  new  settlement,  did  not  neglect  the  claims 
of  their  church.  Its  first  Warden,  Abraham  Walton,  was  de- 
scended from  a  family  prominent  in  New  York  City,  and  was 
himself  a  lawyer  practicing  there  in  1791.  On  coming  to  Utica 
he  took  charge  of  a  tract  of  land  in  Schuyler,  on  the  borders 
of  Deerfield,  known  as  Walton's  Patent.  In  1801  he  lived  on 
a  farm  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  about  three  quar- 
ters of  a  mile  east  of  Deerfield  Corners.  His  brother  Charles 
was  associated  in  business  with  him,  and  the  two  brothers  in 
1804  purchased  for  $6,650,  the  250  acres  at  "Salt  Point"  near 
Syracuse.  Abraham  Walton's  wife  was  the  beautiful  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Graham  of  Westchester.  He,  his  wife  and  child 
are  all  buried  in  a  small  plot  that  once  formed  a  part  of  the 
estate. 

Nathan  Williams,  the  junior  WTarden  of  the  Parish,  was  an 
active,  influential  man,  whose  name  deserves  always  to  be  held 
in  honor  in  the  annals  of  Utica.     Coming  here  from  Troy  in 


102  One  Hundred  Years  of 

1797,  where  he  had  been  its  first  Postmaster,  he  was  one  of 
the  earliest  settlers,  and  entered  heartily  into  the  work  of  ad- 
vancing and  improving  the  village  in  every  possible  way;  he 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  a  well-selected  public  library,  and 
for  a  time  served  as  librarian.  When  Trinity  Church  was 
formed  he  became  its  active  steadfast  friend,  and  at  one  time 
of  financial  difficulty  mortgaged  his  own  house  on  Whitesboro 
Street  to  raise  money  for  the  church  building  fund.  As  an 
honest  lawyer,  he  had  the  reputation  of  advising  his  clients, 
whenever  possible,  to  avoid  law  suits.  As  counsel  for  the 
Oneida  Indians  he  won  from  them  the  striking  name  of  "Up- 
right Friend."  His  public  offices  were  many.  President  of  the 
village,  President  of  the  Manhattan  Bank,  District  Attorney, 
Representative  in  Congress,  Member  of  Assembly,  member  of 
the  Convention  of  1821  for  the  reform  of  the  Constitution.  A 
few  months  before  his  death  he  was  appointed  Clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  moved  to  Geneva,  where  his  life  ended 
September  25,  1835.  His  handsome  house  on  Whitesboro 
Street,  at  the  foot  of  Seneca  Street,  was  the  first  brick  house 
built  in  Utica,  and  was  for  years  the  hospitable  home  of  the 
Bishops  and  clergy  of  our  Church,  when  occasion  required. 
Five  generations  of  his  descendants  lived  within  the  walls  of 
this  house.  All  of  his  eleven  children  were  true  and  faithful 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  Church. 

One  of  them,  James  Watson  Williams,  rendered  active  effi- 
cient service  as  layman  and  vestryman  in  Trinity  Church,  and 
was  one  of  the  zealous  promoters  of  the  new  Parish  of  Grace 
Church  at  its  formation  in  1837.  Hobart  Williams  became  a 
useful  clergyman,  while  to  mention  the  names  of  Mrs.  David 
Wager,  Mrs.  Rathern,  Mrs.  Theodore  Dimon  is  to  recall 
gentlewomen  who  were  always  zealous  in  the  charities  and 
good  work  of  their  mother  Church.  Thomas  Williams  was 
long  a  member  of  the  choir,  when  Thomas  Hastings  drilled 
the  twenty-five  or  thirty  members.    Conspicuous  among  them 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  103 

were  also  Henry  Green,  Henry  Sanger  who  played  the  flute, 
and  James  Lynch,  the  violin,  and  the  music  was  considered 
excellent.  Another  subscriber,  William  Inman,  who  was 
elected  Warden  in  1806,  came  from  England  in  1792,  and  had 
charge  of  large  estates.  He  was  a  native  of  Somersetshire, 
England,  and  in  early  life  had  been  a  clerk  of  Lord  Pultney. 
On  coming  to  America  he  was  entrusted  with  the  interests  of 
certain  Europeans,  prominent  among  whom  were  Patrick 
Colquehoun,  High  Sheriff  of  London;  for  whom  he  purchased 
in  trust  the  tract  called  Inman  Triangle,  including  the  towns 
of  Leyden  and  Lewis  in  Lewis  County,  N.  Y.  He  removed  to 
New  York  in  1813,  and  as  a  merchant  met  with  heavy  reverses; 
his  last  home  was  in  Leyden,  Lewis  County,  where  he  died 
February  14,  1843,  at  tne  ag"e  of  eighty-one  years.  His  first 
residence  here  was  in  the  picturesque  cottage  under  noble 
over  shadowing  elms  on  the  north  side  of  the  Whitesboro  road 
just  beyond  the  canal  bridge,  which  always  attracts  the  atten- 
tion of  the  passerby  for  its  air  of  cozy  comfort.  Later  on  he 
built  the  large  square  brick  mansion  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  Whitesboro  road,  which  still  stands  at  the  corner  of 
Champlin  Street,  as  a  specimen  of  a  handsome  old-fashioned 
house.  Here  Mr.  Inman,  having  an  ample  fortune,  led  the 
life  of  a  country  gentleman,  well-versed  in  literature,  and  fond 
of  books.  He  rode  about  our  village  streets  and  lanes  in  a 
heavy  English  carriage,  and  wore  powdered  hair,  with  short 
clothes  and  knee  buckles.  Of  his  four  sons,  three  distin- 
guished themselves  in  their  different  callings.  William  rose  to 
the  rank  of  Commodore  in  the  navy,  commanded  two  of  the 
boats  that  captured  a  pirate  vessel  off  the  coast  of  Cuba  in 
1823,  served  on  the  lakes  in  the  war  of  1812-15,  and  was  at 
the  head  of  a  squadron  on  the  coast  of  Africa  in  1851.  John 
Inman  became  editor  successively  of  the  "Spirit  of  the  Times," 
the  "New  York  Mirror,"  the  "Commercial  Advertiser,"  and 
the  "Columbian  Gazette,"  and  contributed  to  other  periodicals 


104  One  Hundred  Years  of 

of  the  day.  Henry  Inman  took  a  high  rank  among  our  Ameri- 
can artists,  and  became  Vice  President  of  the  National  Aca- 
demy of  Design.  His  miniatures  were  considered  excellent, 
while  among  his  best  efforts  on  portraits  were  Bishop  White, 
Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and  Boyhood  of  Washington.  Samuel 
Hooker,  the  son  of  the  architect  of  the  Church,  served  as 
Vestryman  from'  1804  until  1808,  when  he  was  elected  War- 
den, a  post  which  he  filled  until  1826.  He  has  left  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  an  honest,  industrious,  upright  man.  He  came 
to  Utica  about  1791  under  the  auspices  of  the  Holland  Land 
Company  to  build  for  them  the  York  House  on  Whitesboro 
Street,  which  was  then  the  largest  hotel  building  this  side  of 
New  York  City ;  and  although  far  too  large  for  our  village,  was 
rendered  necessary  by  the  increasing  stream  of  settlers,  who 
began  to  pour  into  this  rich  region  of  Western  New  York. 
Mr.  Hooker  came  here  from  Albany,  where  his  son  Philip  was 
the  architect  of  the  original  church  of  St.  Peter's  in  State 
Street.  A  photograph  of  old  St.  Peter's  shows  that  Trinity 
Church  was  designed  on  very  similar  lines.  Samuel  Hooker 
with  his  son  John  conducted  a  thriving  business  here  for  many 
years,  until  his  death  in  1832  at  the  age  of  86.  James  Cochran, 
who  served  as  Wrarden  from  1826  to  1827  was  the  son  of  Sur- 
geon General  John  Cochran  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  He 
married  his  cousin,  Gertrude  Schuyler,  the  youngest  daugh- 
ter of  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler  of  Albany. 

Rudolph  Snyder,  vestryman  from  1827  to  1838,  was  the  son 
of  a  Hollander  who  came  to  New  York  and  became  a  ship- 
ping merchant,  where  in  1778  Rudolph  was  born.  Destined 
by  his  father  for  the  ministry,  his  own  preference  was  for  the 
study  of  medicine;  and  the  two  strong  wills  of  father  and  son 
failing  to  agree,  young  Snyder  was  withdrawn  from  Kings 
(or  Columbia)  College  before  graduating,  and  went  into  busi- 
ness with  his  father  in  Albany,  where  he  married  Esther 
Barneveldt  Storm  of  Easton,   Pennsylvania.     After   coming 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  105 

to  Utica  he  became  a  trustee  of  the  village,  and  was  twice  its 
President.  He  was  also  a  Commissioner  of  its  Schools  and 
President  of  the  Mechanics'  Association;  his  education  and 
tastes  led  him  to  spend  much  time  in  self-improvement,  while 
his  strong  sense  and  practical  talents  made  him  a  valuable 
member  of  the  community.  His  adopted  daughter,  Mrs. 
James  Madison  Weed,  was  long  an  active  member  of  this 
Parish.  Third  on  the  list  of  original  subscribers  stands  the 
name  of  Bryan  Johnson,  who  came  here  as  a  merchant  from 
England  in  1797,  and  established  himself  on  Whitesboro  Street 
near  where  Division  Street  now  extends.  In  1809  his  son 
Alexander  came  over,  and  from  that  time  both  father  and  son 
were  marked  people  in  the  streets  of  the  little  village.  Almost 
inseparable  companions,  the  father  a  hale  vigorous  man  with 
flowing  silvery  hair  leaning  on  the  arm  of  his  son,  dressed  with 
the  utmost  care,  and  wearing  the  conspicuous  short  breeches 
and  silk  stockings,  they  presented  a  picture  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. The  names  of  both  father  and  son  appear  among  the 
Wardens  and  Vestrymen.  This  coming  summer  will  witness 
the  disappearance  from  Genesee  Street  of  the  familiar  house 
known  as  the  Johnson  Place,  which  is  to  make  way  for  the  new- 
Savings  Bank  Building.  Continuing  down  the  list  we  find 
the  name  of  James  Van  Rensselaer,  a  member  of  the  firm'  of 
Kane  and  Van  Rensselaer,  which  was  identified  with  the  early- 
history  of  the  village.  Connected  by  marriage  with  the  family 
of  the  Kents  they  were  associated  with  the  Great  Chancellor 
Kent,  and  related  in  more  recent  times  to  the  arctic  explorer,. 
Elisha  Kent  Kane.  Mr.  Van  Rensselaer's  store  was  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Genesee  Street,  a  little  north  of  Broad  Street,, 
and  was  graced  by  the  sign  of  the  eagle.  When  Broad  Street 
was  laid  out  in  1808  it  became  necessary  to  move  the  store 
half  way  round ;  wrhich  was  accomplished  by  balancing  the 
building  on  a  cannon  ball  as  a  pivot,  and  swinging  it  half  way 
7 


106  One  Hundred  Years  of 

round  into  place.  John  Post  has  the  glory  of  having  built  the 
first  frame  house  in  Fort  Schuyler,  and  probably  in  the  County. 
Log  houses  were  much  in  vogue  at  this  time.  His  store  was 
on  the  north-west  corner  of  Genesee  and  Whitesboro  Streets 
adjoining  his  house,  and  was  more  like  an  Indian  agency  than 
our  modern  idea  of  a  store.  Furs  and  Ginseng  were  brought 
here  in  large  quantities  by  the  Indians,  and  exchanged  for 
blankets,  powder  and  shot,  spirits,  beads  and  other  Indian  nec- 
essaries. It  was  not  unusual  for  thirty  or  forty  Indians  to 
camp  around  the  store  at  night,  or  if  very  cold  to  sleep  close 
to  the  blazing  fire  which  roared  up  the  wide  mouthed  chimney. 

James  Bloodgood  was  the  son  of  Alderman  Bloodgood  of 
Albany,  and  established  a  hardware  store  directly  next  to  John 
Post's  store  on  Genesee  Street  in  1805. 

James  Hopper  was  an  English  sea  captain  in  the  service  of 
the  merchant  marine.  In  the  war  with  France  his  ship  was 
captured,  and  he  himself  carried  a  prisoner  to  France,  where 
he  was  afterwards  exchanged  with  a  brother  officer  for  Ad- 
miral and  Marshall  Junot,  who  was  captured  in  Egypt.  Gen. 
Alexander  Hamilton  is  said  to  have  induced  him  to  come  to 
this  part  of  the  State;  he  purchased  large  tracts  of  land  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  city,  where  a  street  is  named  for  him,  and. 
lived  here  until  his  death  in  18 id.  Mrs.  McClure,  George 
Hopper  and  Thomas  Hopper  were  his  children. 

Matthew  Codd  made  himself  unpleasantly  known  to  fame 
as  a  quarrelsome  Irishman  of  large  stature,  and  in  addition  to 
this  as  the  husband  of  Martha  Bradstreet,  a  daughter  of  John 
Bradstreet,  one  of  the  four  original  proprietors  of  Cosby 
Manor,  whose  perpetual  law  suit  against  the  city  associated 
her  with  such  distinguished  lawyers  as  Aaron  Burr,  John  O. 
Van  Ness,  David  B.  Ogden,  and  our  Daniel  Webster.  Many 
of  these  trials  were  held  before  Judge  Alfred  Conkling,  Judge 
John  Savage  and  Judge  Sutherland.  Mrs.  Codd,  or  Martha 
Bradstreet,  as  she  preferred  calling  herself  after  her  separation 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  107 

from  her  belligerent  husband,  was  always  present  at  these 
trials;  having  become  quite  a  good  lawyer  herself,  she  fre- 
quently gave  advice  to  her  counsel  openly  in  Court,  thus  caus- 
ing much  amusement. 

The  name  of  John  C.  Devereux  upon  the  subscription  list, 
recalls  memories  of  an  upright  warm-hearted  citizen  who, 
coming  to  Utica  in  its  early  days  entered  heartily  into  its  so- 
cial and  mercantile  life,  and  left  a  spotless  name  for  integrity 
and  praiseworthy  zeal  in  promoting  all  the  best  interests  of  the 
village.  He  gave  liberally  to  every  church  as  it  was  started, 
and  gathered  the  members  of  his  own  faith  in  the  parlors  of 
his  house,  for  Mass,  when  as  yet  they  were  too  feeble  a  folk  to 
have  a  church  building  of  their  own.  His  home  was  for  many 
years  the  large  cheerful  house  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  First 
Street,  afterwards  so  well  known  as  the  Hubbell  Homestead. 
The  gift  of  fifty  dollars  from  John  Hooker,  the  architect,  was 
a  generous  one,  as  was  also  the  same  amount  from  Hugh 
White  of  Whitestown,  and  Peter  Smith,  the  Indian  agent  and 
interpreter.  Hugh  White,  the  head  of  the  little  colony  of 
fifteen  souls  who  constituted  the  first  plantation  of  Puritans 
oustide  of  New  England  in  our  State,  has  written  his  name  in 
fair  characters  through  all  this  region,  and  no  name  is  more 
deserving  of  honor. 

Peter  Smith  was  one  of  the  very  earliest  settlers  in  Fort 
Schuyler,  and  as  Indian  trader  and  interpreter  was  familiar 
with  all  this  wild  region  before  any  permanent  settlement  was 
established.  Both  he  and  his  son  Gerret  Smith  were  at  differ- 
ent times  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  not  at  any 
time  identified  with  Trinity,  except  as  subscribers  to  its  build- 
ing fund. 

Jonas  Piatt  was  the  pioneer  lawyer  of  the  State  west  of 
Johnstown.  Coming  to  Whitesboro  at  the  age  of  21  he  rose 
to  great  eminence  in  the  County  and  State.  When  Herkimer 
County  was  organized  in  1790  he  was  appointed  to  the  office 


108  One  Hundred  Years  of 

of  County  Clerk,  and  kept  the  records  for  seven  years  at  his 
office  in  Whitesboro.  When  Oneida  County  was  formed  in 
1798  Mr.  Piatt  became  the  Clerk  of  the  new  County,  still 
keeping  the  office  and  records  in  Whitesboro.  He  was  also  the 
first  Congressman  who  lived  in  what  is  now  Oneida  County, 
and  in  1814  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  convention  of  1821. 

Thomas  R.  Gold  was  another  prominent  lawyer  and  State 
Senator.  The  firm  of  Gold  &  Sill  was  well  known  throughout 
the  State.  Young  lawyers  or  law  students  from  all  parts  of 
the  State  flocked  hither  to  receive  the  benefit  of  their  instruc- 
tions. It  is  said  that  at  one  time  no  less  than  thirty  students 
were  enrolled  on  their  list,  many  of  whom  afterwards  became 
prominent  at  the  bar.  The  household  of  Mr.  Gold  contributed 
largely  to  the  refined  and  pleasant  hospitality  for  which 
Whitestown  was  famous  at  that  time,  and  whose  echoes  linger 
there  still. 

Charles  C.  Broadhead  came  to  old  Fort  Schuyler  in  1797, 
and  was  an  active  engineer  and  surveyor.  His  career  presents 
a  vivid  picture  of  life  on  this  frontier  at  that  time.  Appointed 
surveyor  of  the  famous  Castorland  Company,  his  work  took 
him  into  the  Northern  wilderness,  where  his  life  was  once 
threatened  by  the  tomahawk  of  a  savage  Indian,  and  saved  by 
the  intervention  of  a  friendly  one.  Mistaking  the  crossing  of 
the  Black  River  at  Lyon's  Falls  his  raft  was  swept  over  the 
high  falls.  He  was  carried  into  the  swirl  of  a  foaming  eddy, 
and  dragged  senseless  to  the  shore  by  the  Indians,  while  his 
friend  Mondrew  Pharoux,  one  of  the  principals  of  the  Com- 
pany, was  swept  over  the  falls  and  drowned.  In  1800  Govern- 
or Jay  appointed  him  Sheriff,  and  in  that  capacity  he  was  re- 
quired to  act  at  the  first  execution  in  Oneida  County.  The 
criminal  was  an  Indian  from  Brotherton,  convicted  of  killing 
his  wife;  and  the  execution  took  place  on  a  hill  west  of  Whites- 
boro, in  the  presence  of   a   vast  crowd.     Dominie    Kirkland 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  109 

stood  close  by  the  criminal,  and  offered  fervent  prayers  in  the 
Indian  language,  while  hymns  were  sung  by  several  Indian 
men  in  their  own  tongue.  The  St.  Regis  Indians  adopted  Mr. 
Broadhead  as  a  member  of  their  own  tribe,  and  gave  him  a 
name  descriptive  of  his  power  in  running  lines.  The  most 
difficult  part  of  the  survey  of  the  Erie  Canal  from  Albany  to 
Rome  was  put  into  his  hands,  and  although  some  of  his  work 
was  disputed,  time  fully  justified  the  accuracy  of  his  state- 
ments. The  Bleecker  heirs  employed  him  to  make  a  map  of 
their  property  in  the  limits  of  the  City  of  Utica;  it  was  care- 
fully and  skillfully  done,  and  no  document  in  the  County 
Clerk's  Office  is  more  constantly  consulted  than  this  map,  filed 
in  181 1.  In  1817  he  ran  the  lines  of  the  town  of  Utica  when 
it  was  set  off  from  Whitestown,  which  was  his  last  public  work. 
Previously  to  this  Simeon  DeWitt  had  appointed  him  Deputy 
Surveyor  of  the  State.  Important  surveys,  negotiations  and 
treaties  with  the  Indians  were  conducted  by  him  with  rare 
skill  and  ability.  His  long  life  was  full  of  contrasts.  Naturally 
social  in  his  tastes,  he  was  in  younger  life  a  favorite  guest 
around  the  fireside  of  many  of  the  pleasant  households  of  old 
Utica;  but  with  advancing  years  he  grew  moody  and  irritable, 
and  as  one  friend  after  another  died  out  of  his  circle  he  lived 
apart  in  lonely  isolation  until  he  died  in  1852  a  lonely  old  man 
of  eighty  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  and 
Diitch  Reformed  Churches,  and  his  donation  to  Trinity 
Church  probably  grew  out  of  his  personal  friendship  for  some 
of  its  members. 

William  G.  Tracey  was  one  of  the  earliest  merchants  of 
Whitesboro,  and  its  second  postmaster.  His  sons  Charles  and 
William  Tracey  became  prominent  lawyers  in  both  Utica  and 
New  York.  His  house  still  stands  on  Main  Street  in  Whites- 
boro, opposite  the  street  called  by  his  name. 

The  next  subscriber,  Frederic  White,  has  left  an  advertise- 
ment which  presents  a  vivid  picture  of  the  contents  of  a  store 


no  One  Hundred  Years  of 

on  the  frontier  at  that  time.  It  reads:  "My  new  hat  and  gro- 
cery store  has  on  hand  six  hundred  castor  roram  hats  (what- 
ever these  might  have  been),  and  two  hundred  knapt  and  felt 
hats,  also  liquors,  groceries,  nails,  crockery,  and  a  few  dozen 
of  Webster's  first  and  third  spellers,  all  of  which  will  be  sold 
for  wheat,  pot  or  pearl  ashes,  or  on  approved  credit." 

Dr.  Marcus  Hitchcock  was  a  physician  who  opened  a  drug 
store  and  dispensed  catarrhal  snuff  and  various  patent  medi- 
cines, some  of  which  he  invented  himself;  his  store  was  at  38 
Genesee  Street,  just  above  Whitesboro  Street,  and  here  he 
kept  the  Post  Office  from  about  1804  to  1828.  His  office  may 
be  said  to  have  been  the  beginning  of  club  life  in  Utica.  As 
the  time  for  the  arrival  of  the  mail  approached,  it  was  the 
gathering  place  of  all  the  men  of  the  village  and  the  adjacent 
country.  Here  all  the  village  oracles  and  sages  exploited  their 
wisdom;  here  appointments  were  made,  bargains  concluded, 
political  candidates  proposed  and  rejected;  here  strangers 
made  themselves  known  to  the  inhabitants,  here  young  men 
were  counselled  and  encouraged  by  their  seniors  and  valuable 
friendships  formed.  Here  Erastus  Clark  in  the  full  courage  of 
his  convictions  uttered  the  bold  prophecy,  that  at  some  future 
day,  whose  date  was  not  fixed,  Utica  would  possess  five  thou- 
sand inhabitants.  This  came  to  pass  in  1825,  when  the  cen- 
sus gave  the  population  at  five  thousand  and  forty  souls.  In 
181 3  it  was  but  seventeen  hundred. 

Dr.  Elizur  Mosely  came  to  Whitesboro  in  1790,  and  was  the 
first  physician,  the  first  merchant  and  the  first  postmaster  of 
that  village.  When  he  resigned  the  office  in  1825,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  William  G.  Tracey,  he  was  the  oldest  postmaster  in 
the  United  States,  having  served  since  1795. 

Among  the  most  active  and  useful  in  building  up  the  infant 
Parish  may  be  mentioned  Morris  S.  Miller,  a  young  lawyer, 
who  made  the  journey  here  from.  Lowville  with  his  wife  and 
six  weeks  old  baby  on  horse  back;  the  only  possible  way  to 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  in 

accomplish  the  journey  at  that  time.  He  immediately  identi- 
fied himself  with  all  the  interests  of  the  place,  and  became  an 
active  member  of  Trinity  Church.  His  name  appears  as  Ves- 
tryman in  1806,  and  in  that  capacity  he  served  until  his  death 
in  1824.  A  graduate  of  Union  College,  and  its  second  vale- 
dictorian, he  most  fully  appreciated  the  value  of  education,  of 
both  the  mind  and  the  spirit,  and  gave  liberally  of  his  time 
and  talents  to  build  up  the  Parish  Church,  often  serving  as  lay 
reader  in  the  absence  of  a  clergyman.!  By  his  friendly  cordial 
manner  towards  the  new  comers  he  induced  many  to  join  him 
in  church  work.  It  was  mainly  through  his  efforts  and  let- 
ters that  Dr.  Anthon  was  persuaded  to  come  to  Utica,  where 
he  left  an  honored  name  and  memory.  In  1808,  Mr.  Miller 
was  president  of  the  village;  in  1810  he  was  made  first  Judge 
of  Oneida  County,  and  was  reappointed  three  successive  terms 
until  his  death,  filling  the  office  with  credit  and  public  ap- 
proval. In  1813  and  1815  he  represented  the  district  in  the 
13th  Congress. 

As  agent  of  his  father-in-law,  Rutger  Bleecker  of  Albany, 
one  of  the  four  proprietors  of  Cosby's  Manor,  Judge  Miller 
was  actively  engaged  in  laying  out  streets,  building  bridges, 
planting  trees,  and  doing  a  hundred  different  things  to  pro- 
mote the  growth  of  the  village,  and  to  make  it  attractive  to  the 
emigrants  from  New  England  who  were  coming  over  to  this 
Western  wilderness  in  large  numbers,  attracted  by  the  rich 
soil  of  our  valleys  as  compared  with  the  rocky,  stony  fields 
of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  He  is  described  as  having 
many  gifts  of  appearance  and  manner;  a  slight  but  compact 
figure,  a  large  beaming  blue  eye,  a  merry  laugh,  a  warm  heart 
which  atoned  for  his  quick  temper,  not  always  controlled,  and 
which  frequently  brought  him  into  temporary  difficulties.  To 
his  credit  be  it  said  he  was  always  the  first  to  confess  the  fault 
which  injured  him  more  than  his  fellow-man.  He  died  in 
1824,  leaving  an  honored  name  in  the  village  and  County,  and 


1 1 2  One  Hundred  Years  of 

although  only  forty-four  years  of  age,  he  left  the  impress  of 
his  taste  and  ability  on  our  city.  The  beautiful  wide  avenues 
of  Broad  Street  and  Park  Avenue  were  laid  out  by  him.;  while 
the  last  work  of  his  life  was  the  planning  and  arranging  of 
Rutger  Place,  with  its  broad  paths,  extensive  lawns,  and  grace- 
ful shrubberies,  with  a  massive  stone  house  in  the  center, 
which  his  mortal  eyes  were  not  destined  to  see  completed. 
His  life  was  spent  in  the  old  Kip  house  on  Main  Street,  where 
the  Bishops  and  Clergy  were  always  most  welcome  guests 
during  their  visits  to*  Utica  and  on  their  journey ings  through 
the  State.  His  remains  now  rest  in  Forest  Hill,  but  were  taken 
to  Albany  at  his  death.  As  a  token  of  respect,  a  mournful 
company  of  the  vestry  and  pall  bearers  walked  with  the  funeral 
procession  as  far  as  the  city  line. 

In  1819,  Henry  Seymour,  recently  appointed  Commissioner 
for  building  the  Erie  Canal,  moved  his  family  in  covered 
wagons  and  vans  from  Pompey  Hill  in  Onondaga  County  to 
Utica,  and  from  thenceforth  thoroughly  identified  himself  with 
the  place.  His  life  tells  the  story  of  what  active  young  men 
at  that  time  accomplished  in  this  Western  world.  His  father, 
Major  Moses  Seymour  of  Connecticut  came  out  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  a  poor  man,  and  his  five  sons  entered  vigorously 
into  the  battle  of  life.  Henry  Seymour  decided  to  come  up 
into  New  York  State,  and  opened  a  country  store  on  Pompey 
Hill,  where  he  displayed  very  marked  energy  and  ability. 
From  1816  to  1819  he  represented  the  Western  District  in  the 
State  Senate.  He  served  as  Canal  Commissioner  from  18 19 
until  183 1,  when  he  resigned  to  become  President  of  the  Far- 
mer's Loan  and  Trust  Company  in  New  York  City.  After 
coming  to  Utica  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  18 19.  In 
1822  he  went  for  the  second  time  to  the  Senate.  In  1833  he 
was  appointed  Mayor  of  Utica.  He  served  as  Vestryman  in 
Trinity  Church  from  1829  to  1836.  His  son,  Horatio  Sey- 
mour, followed  his  footsteps  in  his  loyalty  to  the  Church,  as 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  113 

well  as  in  filling  offices  of  trust;  confirmed  by  Bishop  Onder- 
donk  in  1831,  be  was  continuously  a  Vestryman  and  Warden 
over  fifty  years,  until  1882,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  ill 
health.  He  was  for  many  years  a  delegate  to  the  Diocesan 
Conventions  of  both  Western  and  Central  New  York,  and 
deputy  to  the  General  Convention,  where  his  wise  counsels 
and  effective  speeches  made  him  a  conspicuous  member.  By 
no  one  has  his  character  been  more  perfectly  epitomized  than 
by  Judge  Calvin  in  his  address  before  the  Alumni  of  Hobart 
College.  "Horatio  Seymour  was  more  than  an  eminent  states- 
man, an  accomplished  and  faithful  public  officer,  a  famous 
and  effective  orator,  a  trusted  leader,  an  earnest  and  incorrupt- 
ible patriot;  he  was  the  highest  type  of  man,  a  sincere  intel- 
ligent devoted  Christian  gentleman.  He  cherished  and  re- 
vered the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  all  the  majestic  facts  and 
grand  possibilities  which  they  typified,  but  his  supreme  affec- 
tion and  devout  adoration  were  reserved  for  and  bestowed 
upon  the  banner  of  the  Cross  and  the  sublime  facts  it  pro- 
claimed, and  the  ineffable  hopes  it  signified  and  announced. 
As  deputy  to  the  General  Convention  in  1862,  during  the  Civil 
War,  and  in  1865  (the  first  one  held  after  the  war),  he  was 
foremost  in  counsel  and  advocacy  of  such  measures  of  con- 
ciliation and  Christian  charity  as  closed  no  doors  and  imposed 
no  obstacles  to  the  return  of  those  Bishops  and  Deputies  then 
absent  by  force,  or  seeking  their  accustomed  place  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  Church.  It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  value 
and  influence  of  such  an  example  in  the  effort  to  restore  har- 
mony between  the  sections,  an  example  so  appreciated  by  his 
warm  friend,  Bishop  DeLancey,  that  after  expressing  his  ad- 
miration for  his  whole  course  he  said:  "In  the  grand  defence 
he  made  of  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  the  Church,  layman 
as  he  is,  he  puts  to  blush  the  clergy  by  his  manly  way  of  hold- 
ing forth  the  truth,  rejoicing  in  it  with  deep  reverence  for  the 
holy  faith,  and     in    the    beautiful    spirit    of     charity     which 


ii4  One  Hundred   Years  of 

vaunteth  not  itself,  thinketh  no  evil,  and  hopeth  all  things. 
We  may  justly  lay  to  heart  and  value  the  counsels  of  such  a 
noble  man." 

The  striking  figure  of  Roscoe  Conkling  was  a  familiar  one 
in  Trinity  Church  during  the  early  years  of  his  life,  when  as  a 
young  lawyer  in  Utica  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fame  and 
political  prominence  which  was  to'  make  his  name  known  all 
over  the  country. 

Trinity  Church  is  the  oldest  public  building  existing  in  Utica 
to-day.  As  it  stands  under  the  noble  over-shadowing  elms,  it 
presents  externally  much  the  same  appearance  as  in  the  days 
of  our  forefathers.  When  additions  were  made  at  different 
times,  the  front  of  the  building,  with  the  steeple,  was  carefully 
removed,  and  as  carefully  replaced,  thus  leaving  it  practically 
unchanged.  Internally,  many  changes  have  been  made. 
There  was  at  first  no  recess  chancel;  the  end  of  the  Church 
was  slightly  curved  to  hold  the  communion  table,  and  the  two 
storied  pulpit  stood  outside,  with  a  door  at  the  rear  opening 
into  the  vestry  room.  Many  of  us  can  recollect  the  surprise 
and  mystery  when  a  clergyman  after  disappearing  through  a 
low  door  in  the  chancel  wearing  his  white  surplice,  suddenly 
reappeared  at  the  back  of  the  high  pulpit  in  a  black  silk  robe 
and  white  muslin  bands.  To  some  of  the  children  of  that  time 
this  occurrence  was  the  event  of  the  service  always  eagerly 
watched  for.  The  Church  was  furnished  in  white  with  green 
cushions  and  brass  nails;  heavy  green  moreen  curtains  with 
fringe  to  match  hung  down  from  the  pulpit.  The  congrega- 
tion came  from  far  and  near.  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Walker  rolled 
up  in  a  stately  coach  from  East  Utica,  Colonel  Inman  with 
equal  state  from  far  out  on  the  Whitesboro  road.  The  Greens 
came  faithfully  down  from  Oriskany,  Miss  Mary  Green  played 
the  organ  year  after  year,  often  coming  on  horse  back  when 
the  roads  were  impassable,  and  staying  through  the  afternoon 
service. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  115 

In  looking  over  the  long  list  of  Wardens  and  Vestrymen, 
it  is  pleasant  to  note  how  many  of  them  were  willing  to  serve 
for  long  periods,  and  how  often  the  office  descended  from  fa- 
ther to  son.  Nor  does  this  list  of  officers  at  all  comprise  the 
sum  total  of  the  faithful  workers,  so  many  of  whom  have  gone 
long  since  to  their  reward,  and  who  were  too  humbly  unos- 
tentatious to  let  their  good  works  and  deeds  be  known.  But 
the  fruits  of  their  labors  we  can  all  see  and  recognize.  This 
Church  begun  in  a  spirit  so  liberal, in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  its  members,  was  destined  to  grow  and  prosper  through  all 
the  years  of  the  century,  and  to  be  instrumental,  directly  and 
indirectly  in  forming  the  strong  Parishes  of  Grace,  Calvary, 
St.  George,  St.  Luke  and  Holy  Cross,  with  the  active  mis- 
sions of  St.  Andrew  and  St.  Paul's  in  Deerfield. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  over-rate  the  power  and  influence 
of  such  an  attractive  church  building  as  Old  Trinity;  stand- 
ing practically  unchanged  at  the  end  of  the  century  amid  the 
general  change,  it  forms  a  connecting  link  with  the  past;  a 
past  eloquent  with  the  hopes  and  fears,  the  trials  and  successes 
of  a  by-gone  generation.  As  the  descendants  of  the  first  mem- 
bers of  this  Parish  kneel  here  at  the  altar  they  are  surrounded 
with  memories  of  those  long  gone  before.  They  realize  that 
this  was  the  Church  of  their  fathers,  and  that  the  paths  they 
are  treading,  their  fathers  have  trod;  they  utter  the  same  peti- 
tions from  her  Litanies,  they  breathe  the  same  fervent  prayers 
for  strength,  comfort  and  guidance  as  in  days  of  yore,  and  on 
such  a  marked  day  of  remembrance  as  this  in  the  annuls  of  Old 
Trinity  we  may  well  believe  the  spirits  of  those  gone  before 
us  into  life  everlasting  are  joining  with  ours  in  the  full  com- 
munion of  saints. 


n6  One  Hundred  Years  of 

"THE  WORK  AND  CHARACTERISTICS    OF  TRIN- 
ITY'S RECTORS." 


BY  REV.   JOHN  RAVENSCROFT  HARDING. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  said  yesterday  and  to-day,  the 
history  of  Trinity  Parish  as  a  corporation  has  been  told  on 
several  previous  occasions.  In  1871  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hanson 
Coxe,  S.  T.  D.,  then  rector  of  the  parish,  delivered  in  this 
church  an  historical  address,  covering  the  prominent  facts  in 
our  earliest  history. 

On  September  5,  1881,  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
church's  consecration  was  celebrated  here.  There  was  a  ser- 
mon then,  partly  historical,  by  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese, 
Right  Rev.  F.  D.  Huntington,  LL.D.,  and  an  historical  paper 
by  the  then  Rector,  Rev.  Charles  H.  Gardner.  There  were 
also  congratulatory  addresses  of  the  same  nature  as  those  on 
Wednesday  evening  last.  Beside  these  I  draw  attention  to 
an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Utica  Daily  "Observer," 
September  30th,  1887,  containing  a  short  sketch  of  the  par- 
ish's organization  in  1798,  the  names  of  the  original  sub- 
scribers, and  a  full  list  of  Rectors,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen 
from  the  beginning  to  that  time. 

This  valuable  paper  was  carefully  prepared  by  Mr.  D. 
Walter  Perkins  of  this  parish.  Other  letters  of  reminiscence 
have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  papers  of  this  city, 
from  former  parishioners  or  friends  in  the  olden  days. 

This  history  is  then  an  oft  told  tale,  and  one  which  will 
not  in  the  present  paper  need  repetition.  Surely  in  these 
various  addresses  and  letters  I  have  mentioned,  and  in  all 
that  has  been  said  during  this  celebration,  there  would  seem 
but  little  left  for  me  to  say.;  It  appeared  to  our  committee 
that  whatever  may  have  been    said  in  the  past,    perhaps   not 


e  Rev.  Charles  H.  Gardner. 
Rector  from  tSj8to  iSSb. 


fU   r/ 


The  Rev.  William  D.  Ifaxoo,  D.  D. 
Hector  from  r&j  to  /fyj. 


The  Rev.  John  R.  Harding. 
Rector  from  18Q4. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  117 

quite  enough  had  been  told  of  those  godly  men,  pastors  and 
laymen  upon  whom  during  the  century  had  fallen  the  spiritual 
and  material  welfare  of  the  parish.  The  mere  facts  in  our 
history  have  been  told  and  retold,  but  we  thought  hardly 
enough  about  the  characters,  the  strong  manly  lives,  the 
saintly  souls,  whose  labors  and  prayers  have  made  Trinity 
parish  all  that  it  has  been  these  hundred  years,  and  whose 
good  deeds,  let  it  be  hoped,  were  the  fruitage  of  what  the 
church  had  to  give  them  in  return.  The  story  of  the  laity  to 
which  you  have  just  listened,  written  by  a  former  member 
and  friend  of  this  parish,  has  proved  no  less  interesting  than 
all  else  which  comes  from  her  facile  pen.  We  close  this  cele- 
bration with  a  similar  tale  of  those  faithful  clergymen  who 
through  all  the  years  have  served  at  this  altar,  and  given 
themselves  faithfully  here  to  the  glory  of  God. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  original  founder  of  the  parish  in 
the  winter  of  1798  was  the  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  a  deacon 
and  missionary,  who  on  his  journey  from  Albany  to  the 
western  part  of  the  State,  held  the  first  services  of  our  church 
here,  gathered  together  the  few  communicants,  and  organ- 
ized a  parish  named,  "The  Rector,  Wardens  and  Vestrymen 
of  Trinity  Church,  Utica." 

His  venerable  and  honored  son,  the  Rev.  Dudley  Chase, 
now  a  retired  army  chaplain  living  in  Philadelphia,  is  under 
God's  blessing  able  to  be  with  us  here  to-day,  and  has  already 
given  us  some  reminiscences  of  his  father,  the  first  Bishop  of 
Ohio  and  Illinois.  On  his  return  eastward  Mr.  Chase  stopped 
again  at  Utica  to  encourage  the  few  gathered  together  on  his 
first  visit.  I  can  find  no  record  of  any  ministrations  here 
from  that  winter  until  1803.  It  is  probable,  as  suggested  by 
Dr.  Bagg,  in  his  "Memorial  History  of  Utica,"  that  although 
regular  services  were  discontinued  after  the  departure  of  Mr. 


n8  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Chase,  that  during  the  five  intervening  years  to  1803,    "Ser- 
vices were  imperfectly  maintained  by  lay  reading." 

Ont  the  24th  of  May,  1803,  a  meeting  of  laymen  was  called 
to  erect  and  establish  an  Episcopal  Church.  On  the  1st 
June,  1803,  the  subscribers  decided  to  build.  In  the  conven- 
tion journal  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York,  1804,  it  is  stated 
that  the  "Rev.  Gamaliel  Thatcher  organized  a  church  at  Utica, 
August  14,  same  year,  by  the  name  of  Trinity  Church." 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Thatcher  was  a  missionary  ministering  to 
the  small  congregations  scattered  through  the  State  from 
Schenectady  westward,  including  Utica  in  his  field.  The  first 
clergyman  regularly  in  charge  of  the  parish  was  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Judd,  who  officiated  alternately  here  and  at  Paris 
Hill  from  the  fall  of  1804  to  the  fall  of  1806.  Mr.  Judd  prob- 
ably lived  in  Utica,  but  left  no  record  of  his  work  in  the  par- 
ish register.  He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  reared  in 
the  Church.  On  February  8th,  1804,  he  was  ordained  deacon 
in  New  York  by  Bishop  Benjamin  Moore,  and  was  sent  out 
in  this  part  of  the  State  as  a  general  missionary,  having  min- 
istered here  occasionally  before  he  was  called  to  the  parish. 
In  his  first  report  to  the  convention!  he  states  that  "at  Utica 
they  are  building  a  church."  He  went  from  here  on  Novem- 
ber 3rd,  1806,  to  St.  John's  Church,  Johnstown,  and  St. 
Ann's,  Fort  Hunter.  There  is  no  record  of  his  ordination  to 
the  priesthood.  He  remained  at  Johnstown  until  1812.  In 
181 3  he  was  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Stamford,  Connec- 
ticut, and  in  charge  of  the  churches  at  New  Canaan  and 
Greenwich.  In  1822  he  went  to  Maryland,  and  from  1823 
until  his  death  in  1838  was  rector  of  Great  Choptank  parish. 
Dorchester  County,  Maryland.  On  his  tomb  in  the  old 
cemetery  of  that  parish  is  the  following  inscription: 

"Faith,  Hope  and  Charity, 

But  the  greatest  of  these  is  Charity." 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  119 

"In  these  words  and  in  this  spirit  preached  and  lived  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Judd,  whose  remains  are  buried  here.  For  many 
years  he  was  rector  of  Great  Choptank  parish.  Mr.  Judd  was 
born  in  Watertown,  Conn.,  1782,  and  died  on  the  5th  day  of 
April,  1838." 

He  is  described  as  a  high-toned,  conscientious  and  earnest 
worker,  in  appearance  a  very  handsome  man,  about  five  feet 
ten  inches  in  height,  of  light  complexion,  with  remarkably 
fine  prominent  features,  but  rather  delicate  in  figure.  He 
served  on  the  standing  committee  of  Maryland  for  many 
years. 

The  Rev.  Amos  Glover  Baldwin  came  to  the  parish  imme- 
diately after  Mr.  Judd's  departure.  His  acceptance  of  the 
rectorship  began  with  September  22,  1807,  and  he  served  un- 
til May  12,  1818.  This  period  of  11  years  lifted  us  from  the 
condition  of  a  weak,  struggling  body,  to  one  of  the  strong 
and  important  parishes  of  this  part  of  the  diocese.  There 
were  201  baptisms,  and  at  his  resignation  about  100  com- 
municants. Though  the  journey  in  those  days  to  New  York 
City  was  long  and  expensive,  Mr.  Baldwin  represented  us 
nearly  every  year  at  the  annual  convention. 

Through  funds  obtained  largely  in  New  York,  he  estab- 
lished in  1810  the  Trinity  Church  Theological  Library  for 
students  of  divinity  in  the  western  part  of  the  Diocese  of  New 
York.  It  has  been  stated,  though  our  records  show  no  proof, 
that  he  constructed  with  his  own  hands  the  first  organ  used 
in  this  church  in  181 1.  The  records  do  state  that  an  organ 
was  built  at  that  time  by  William  Whately  &  Co. 

A  minute  of  the  vestry  at  his  resignation  testifies  to  his 
"zeal  and  fidelity"  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  After 
leaving  here  Mr.  Baldwin  continued  his  labors  as  follows: 
Most  of  the  time  as  a  missionary;  St.  Lawrence  County,  N. 
Y.,  1819;  in  the  Western  States  under  the  Board  of  Missions, 
1823;  Rector  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Mary,  Charlton,  N.  Y.,  1824; 


120  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Zanesville  and  Newark,  Ohio,  1826;  Ovid  and  Watkins,  N. 
Y.,  1829;  Constableville,  N.  Y.,  1831;  Aurora,  N.  Y.,  1835; 
Mayville  and  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  1837;  Montezuma  and 
Cayuga,  1839.  From  1840  until  his  death  on  Christmas  Day, 
1844,  he  lived  in  Auburn,  New  York.  He  was  buried  in  St. 
Peter's  churchyard  of  that  city.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Hanson 
Coxe,  rector  of  St.  Peter's  at  that  time,  visited  Mr.  Baldwin 
in  his  last  sickness,  officiated  at  his  funeral,  and  preached  a 
memorial  sermon.  In  his  convention  address  of  1845  Bishop 
DeLancey  said  of  Mr.  Baldwin:  "He  was  contemporary  with 
the  early  efforts  to  establish  and  extend  the  church  in  West- 
ern New  York,  and  long  labored  in  this  diocese  and  else- 
where with  a  heart  and  mind  devoted  to  her  interests." 

The  parish  was  without  a  rector  for  more  than  a  year  until 
August  23,  1819,  when  the  Rev.  Henry  M.  Shaw  accepted 
the  invitation  of  the  vestry.  He  served  until  May  22,  1821. 
His  only  report  to  the  convention  while  here,  that  of  1820, 
gives  baptisms  42,  and  communicants  65. 

In  the  paper  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Brown  of  Denver,  read  to- 
day, occurs  the  only  recollection  of  Mr.  Shaw  by  any  mem- 
ber of  this  parish.  She  says  that  he  was  a  young  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  distinguished  for  kindness  of  heart,  and 
particularly  acceptable  to  the  younger  members  of  the  con- 
gregation. He  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  While  a  teacher  in 
the  academy  at  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  in  18 19,  he  was 
ordered  deacon  on  April  19  of  that  year,  by  Right  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Channing  Moore  of  Virginia. 

He  came  to  Utica  from  North  Carolina,  and  was  ordained 
a  priest  by  Bishop  Hobart  in  Trinity  Church  September  3rd, 
1820.  From  here  he  went  to  Sacketts  Harbor,  then  to  Queen 
Anne  Parish,  Prince  George's  County,  Maryland,  in  1822.  In 
1823  he  went  to  Vincennes,  Indiana,  then  to  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, and  back  to  Vincennes,  where  it  seems  that  he  died 
about  1839. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  12  j 

Among  those  to  whom  a  call  to  the  parish  was  unsuccess- 
fully given  between  Mr.  Baldwin's  and  Mr.  Shaw's  rector- 
ships, was  the  Rev.  Henry  Anthon.  The  call  was  renewed 
after  Mr.  Shaw's  resignation,  and  this  time  accepted,  taking 
effect  May  29,  182 1.  He  labored  here  until  January  19,  1829, 
when  he  became  rector  of  St.  Stephens  Church,  New  York. 
He  had  a  year  before  declined  a  call  to  St.  Thomas  Church, 
New  York.  In  183 1  he  was  appointed  an  assistant  minister 
of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  and  was  elected  to  the  rector- 
ship of  St.  Mark's  in  the  Bowery  in  1836.  He  served  there 
nearly  24  years,  until  shortly  before  his  death  on  January  5, 
1861. 

During  his  charge  of  this  parish,  there  were  203  baptisms, 
and  at  his  departure  about  100  communicants.  The  church 
was  repainted  and  repaired  in  1822.  The  Trinity  Church 
Theological  Library,  established  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baldwin, 
was  transferred  to  Hobart  College,  Geneva,  in  1822;  the 
church  steeple  was  repaired  in  1823;  the  first  memorial  tablet 
was  placed  in  the  church  by  Mr.  Hunt;  the  old  side  pews  were 
built,  and  alterations  made  in  the  pulpit  and  chancel,  and  the 
present  communion  service  was  purchased  in  1824.  The 
trees  around  the  church  were  set  out,  and  the  first  rectory 
was  built  in  1825;  the  present  offertory  plates  were  bought 
in  1826.  All  this  shows  what  was  the  activity  of  Dr.  Anthon's 
ministry  here. 

He  belonged  to  a  distinguished  family  of  six  sons,  his  fa- 
ther being  a  surgeon  general  in  the  British  army,  and  his 
mother  the  daughter  of  a  French  officer.  Among  his  brothers 
were  the  eminent  Greek  Professor  of  Columbia  College, 
Charles  Anthon,  LL.D.,  and  John  Anthon,  a  prominent 
lawyer  of  New  York.  Dr.  Anthon  was  born  in  New  York, 
March  nth,  1795,  he  was  graduated  from  Columbia  College 
in  1813,  and  ordained  priest  in  September,  1819. 

8 


/ 

122  One  Hundred  Years  of 

He  served  the  parishes  at  Red  Hook,  Ulster  County,  N. 
Y.,  for  3  years,  and  had  worked  in  South  Carolina  2  years  be- 
fore coming  here. 

Dr.  Bagg  in  his  "Pioneers  of  Utica"  describes  Dr.  Anthon 
and  his  character  as  a  man  and  clergyman  as  follows :  "Slight 
ipf  figure  and  youthful  of  aspect,  there  was  in  his  manner  an 
open  frankness,  and  in  his  countenance  a  grave,  thoughtful 
and  determined  air  which  impressed  and  won  the  beholder. 
His  sermons  were  marked  by  purity,  beauty  and  finish  of 
style,  and  in  both  them  and  his  conversation  there  was  a  racy 
flavor  of  strength  that  betokened  ability  of  high  order.    *  *  * 

*  *  *  He  was  also  inflexible  in  purpose  and  fearless  in 
duty.  ******  jje  was  an  attentive  and  indefatig- 
able pastor,  and  a  genial  and  faithful  friend." 

In  a  sermon  delivered  at  the  Centennial  of  St.  Mark's 
Church,  New  York,  by  the  present  rector,  occurs  the  follow- 
ing significant  words :  "There  came  a  saintly  soul  in  that  year 
1836,  a  type  of  the  Christian  pastor,  rapidly  becoming  extinct 
I  suspect,  the  Rev.  Henry  Anthon." 

In  1843  ne  drew  to  himself  the  attention  of  the  whole 
church  in  his  successful  protest  against  the  ordination  of  a 
Mr.  Arthur  Carey  to  the  ministry.  Mr.  Carey  had  espoused 
the  views  of  the  Oxford  Movement,  which  at  that  time  was  so 
obnoxious  to  the  strong  protestant  sentiment  in  the  church. 

Succeeding  Dr.  Anthon,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Dorr  came  to 
Trinity  May  15,  1829,  and  remained  here  until  October  6, 
1835.  During  this  time  there  was  208  baptisms,  the  com- 
municants numbering  about  150.  The  unusual  number  of  80 
baptisms  in  the  year  183 1  attest  the  earnestness  of  his  labors 
here.  There  were  the  following  changes  in  the  church  struc- 
ture: The  galleries  were  built  in  1830,  the  second  organ  was 
purchased  in  1832,  and  the  church    was    lengthened  in  1833. 

Dr.  Dorr  was  born  March  22,  179*5,    at   Salisbury,  Massa- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  123 

chusetts,  and  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1817. 
He  at  first  studied  law,  but  soon  abandoned  that  for  the  min- 
istry, and  graduated  in  the  first  class  sent  out  from  the  Gen- 
eral Theological  Seminary.  He  was  ordained  deacon  by 
Bishop  Hobart,  June  25,  1820,  in  Grace  Church,  Jamaica,  N. 
Y.,  and  priest  by  the  same  Bishop,  January  15,  182 1,  in  St. 
John's  Chapel,  New  York.  From  1820  until  his  call  to  this 
church  he  was  in  charge  of  the  combined  parishes  of  Trinity, 
Lansingburgh,  and  Grace,  Waterford,  N.  Y. 

After  leaving  here  in  1835,  he  was  General  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Missions,  until  his  call  to  Christ  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  was  instituted  as  rector,  Ascension  Day, 
May  4th,  1837.  He  remained  there  until  his  death  in  1869. 
In  1839  he  was  elected  Bishop  of  Maryland,  but  declined  the 
office.  Both  as  pastor  and  preacher,  he  won  the  admiration 
and  respect  of  his  Philadelphia  flock.  The  following  words 
written  me  by  a  near  relative  of  his  now  living  in  Philadelphia, 
bear  witness  to  the  beauty  of  his  character.  He  says:  "I  have 
never  known  a  man  who  was  so  universally  loved  by  all,  rich 
and  poor;  young  and  old,  learned  and  unlearned.  There  are 
old  people  in  this  city  to-day,  who  come  out  to  see  my  little 
family  that  they  may  tell  them  stories  of  their  dear  pastor, 
'good  old  Dr.  Dorr.'  "  Among  the  productions  of  his  active 
pen  are  the  following  books:  "Recognition  of  Friends  in  An- 
other World/'  "History  of  a  Pocket  Prayer  Book,"  and  "His- 
tory of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia."  Some  of  these  passed 
through  nine  editions.  A  clergyman  of  Pennsylvania  wrote 
of  him:  "Dr.  Dorr  was  sympathetic.  I  well  remember  the 
encouraging  words  he  uttered  to  me  in  Christ  Church,  com- 
ing gracefully  from  an  aged  clergyman  closing  his  work,  to  a 
younger  brother  with  less  experience."  He  was  laid  to  rest 
at  Salisbury,  Massachusetts,  his  birthplace,  to  which  he  was 
always  fondly  attached.    A  bas-relief  of  him  adorns  the  vestry 


124  One  Hundred   Years  of 

room  of  Christ  Church,  and  a  marble  monument  in  the 
church  commemorates  his  good  deeds  as  shepherd  of  the 
flock. 

On  January  25,  1836,  the  Rev.  Pierre  Alexis  Proal  accepted 
the  charge  of  the  parish,  and  served  until  May  5,  1857,  when 
he  resigned  on  account  of  feeble  health.  His  was  the  longest 
rectorship,  21  years  and  3  months.  The  parish  register  shows 
during  that  time  559  baptisms,  and  298  confirmations,  the 
largest  number  of  communicants  being  158.  The  old  chapel, 
which  formerly  stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  church,  facing 
Broad  Street,  was  built  in  1836;  in  185 1  the  entire  building 
being  then  in  a  somewhat  dilapidated  condition  was  thorough- 
ly repaired  and  repainted,  and  the  present  windows  put  in. 
At  that  time  also  the  entire  seating  arrangement  of  the  church 
was  changed,  the  old  pews  in  the  centre  and  on  the  sides  giv- 
ing place  to  the  present  plan. 

This  did  away  with  the  private  ownership  of  the  pews, 
which  had  continued  from  the  building  of  the  church,  and 
which  at  last  crippled  very  materially  the  parish  finances.  Dr. 
Proal  and  the  vestry  of  those  days  deserve  the  gratitude  of 
the  parish  for  removing  such  an  incubus. 

Dr.  Proal  was  born  in  1796  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  of  French 
descent.  He  studied  for  the  ministry  under  Bishop  Hobart, 
and  was  ordained  deacon  by  him  in  the  French  Church,  Du 
St.  Esprit,  New  York,  September  18,  1818,  and  priest  in 
Trinity  Church,  Lansingburgh,  July  13,  1820.  He  was  in 
charge  of  St.  John's  Church,  Johnstown,  from  18 19  to  1821, 
when  he  was  called  to  St.  George's  Church,  Schenectady. 
Here  he  remained  15  years,  until  he  came  to  this  parish  in 
1836.  While  in  Schenectady  he  also  held  for  a  time  the  chair 
of  French  language  in  Union  College  that  city.  Bishop 
Onderdonk  in  his  convention  address  of  1836,  speaks  in  the 
highest  terms  of  his  ministry  in  St.  George's  parish. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  125 

While  rector  of  Trinity  Church  he  was  Secretary  of  the 
Diocese  of  Western  New  York,  a  delegate  to  the  general 
convention,  and  prominent  in  the  general  institutions  of  the 
church.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of  Hamilton  College.  Dr. 
Proal  was  scholarly,  eloquent  as  a  preacher,  and  well  known 
for  his  intelligent  and  beautiful  rendering  of  the  church  serv- 
ices. He  was  very  strong  in  his  convictions,  and  determined 
in  enforcing  them,  but  withal,  a  man  who  left  a  deep  impress 
upon  his  congregation  and  diocese. 

Following  Dr.  Proal,  and  next  to  his,  the  longest  rector- 
ship in  our  parish  history  comes  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Hanson  Coxe,  S.  T.  D.  He  was  born  at  Mendham,  New  Jer- 
sey, on  November  13,  1819,  being  the  second  son  of  the  Rev. 
S.  H.  Coxe,  D.  D.,  a  prominent  Presbyterian  clergyman  of 
New  York  City.  He  was  graduated  in  1839  at  the  University 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  in  1843  at  the  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  He  was  ordained  deacon  that  same  year  in 
St.  Stephen's  Church,  New  York,  and  soon  after  was  placed 
m  charge  of  Bethesda  Church,  Saratoga  Springs.  Here  in 
1844  he  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  and  went  soon  after 
to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Auburn.  He  next  served  the  parishes 
in  Cazenovia  and  Oxford,  N.  Y.,  in  both  of  which,  churches 
were  built  during  his  rectorship.  He  was  also  in  Connecticut 
a  short  while.  He  began  his  ministry  in  Trinity  Church,  Au- 
gust 1,  1857,  and  continued  here  over  20  years  until  Novem- 
ber 1,  1877.  There  were  365  baptisms  and  250  confirmations 
in  those  years,  and  about  225  communicants  at  his  departure. 

The  present  rectory  was  built  in  i860,  and  the  present  or- 
gan in  i8di.  The  older  portion  of  the  parish  house  situated 
on  First  Street,  and  long  known  as  the  chapel,  was  built  and 
dedicated  in  1876.  The  debt  of  the  parish  was  also  materially 
reduced  during  his  rectorship.  Dr.  Coxe's  last  regular  minis- 
trations were  at  St.  Paul's  parish,  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.     After 


126  One  Hundred  Years  of 

10  years  of  duty  there  he  retired  from  active  work,  and  re- 
turned to  this  city,  where  he  spent  the  remaining  six  years  of 
his  life,  preaching  at  intervals,  and  assisting  occasionally  in 
the  services  of  this  church,  which  he  never  ceased  to  love. 
He  died  on  Wednesday,  January  16,  1895,  at  his  residence  in 
this  city,  and  was  buried  from  this  church  on  the  following 
Friday,  the  very  large  congregation  present  testifying  their 
love  for  his  memory.  While  he  was  rector  here  the  number 
of  parishes  in  this  city  increased  from  three  to  five,  and  many 
of  the  older  church  people  here  now  in  this  and  our  several 
sister  churches,  received  their  early  instruction  from  him  in 
Old  Trinity.  They  have  recently  memorialized  their  affection 
for  him  and  Mrs.  Coxe  in  the  bronze  tablet  on  the  wall  at  the 
west  of  the  chancel. 

In  1866  he  received  the  degree  of  S.  T.  D.  from  Columbia 
College,  New  York.  In  1868  at  the  primary  convention  of 
this  diocese  held  in  this  church,  he  was  prominent  in  arrang- 
ing for  the  division,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  to  se- 
lect the  name  of  the  new  diocese,  Central  New  York.  He 
was  also  an  active  member  and  secretary  of  the  standing  com- 
mittee until  his  removal  to  Kinderhook.  Dr.  Coxe's  life  as  a 
pastor  and  preacher  was  one  of  marked  sincerity  and  purity. 
It  was  truly  said  at  his  death  by  one  who  had  known  him 
many  years,  "I  have  never  known  a  more  blameless  life." 
He  was  essentially  simple  and  unambitious,  and  cared  very 
little  for  posthumous  fame. 

In  the  "common  task"  of  parish  duties  he  was  not  only 
faithful  but  joyful.  He  had  a  strong  sense  of  humor,  his 
habit  of  punning,  giving  him  and  his  friends  many  a  hearty 
laugh.  He  was  devoted  to  books  and  nature,  and  always 
greatly  enjoyed  his  annual  outing  among  the  trout  streams  of 
the  Adirondacks.  One  who  was  an  examining  chaplain  with 
him  in  this  diocese  has  said  of  him,  that  he  was  often  struck 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  127 

with  his  knowledge  of  the  deep  things  of  his  profession,  and 
his  exceptionally  fine  memory  of  classical  and  historical 
quotations.  His  knowledge  and  love  of  English  poetry  was 
unusual,  and  he  could  quote  freely  from  Milton,  Scott,  Byron, 
and  the  English  classics  generally,  while  Shakespeare  was 
constantly  in  his  thoughts.  Like  his  eminent  brother,  Right 
Rev.  A.  Cleveland  Coxe,  he  has  left  behind  a  number  of 
poems,  both  sacred  and  patriotic,  some  of  which  are  pre- 
served in  the  pages  of  our  recent  parish  paper.  Among  his 
literary  works  were  three  lectures  delivered  in  Utica  some 
years  ago,  on  "Talleyrand,"  "York  and  Lancaster,"  and 
"English  Poetry,"  also  a  series  of  five  lectures  on  the  history 
of  Trinity  Parish. 

The  more  modern  life  of  the  parish  began  with  the  Rev. 
Charles  H.  Gardner,  who  following  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coxe  on 
January  II,  1878,  held  the  rectorship  until  November  1,  1886. 
By  this  time  the  neighborhood  of  Old  Trinity  had  changed 
very  much  in  character  from  the  palmy  days  of  Dr.  Proal  and 
Dr.  Coxe,  in  fact  we  had  then  became  "a  downtown"  parish, 
land  had  not  only  lost  many  of  the  old  families,  but  were  too 
far  away  to  receive  any  marked  impetus  from  the  uptown 
growth. 

It  was  well  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gardner  was  young  and 
vigorous,  and  apparently  capable  of  unlimited  exertion.  One 
of  the  first  acts  of  his  ministry  was  to  change  the  seats  from 
rented  pews  to  the  free  church  system,  which  plan  has  been 
retained  ever  since. 

The  vigor  of  his  rectorship  is  shown  in  the  unusual  number 
of  baptisms  and  confirmations,  much  larger  than  at  any  other 
equal  time  in  our  history.  Of  the  former  there  were  453,  and 
of  the  latter  255,  the  last  report   showing  340  communicants. 

On  September  7,  1881,  occurred  the  seventy-fifth  anniver- 
sary of  the  consecration  of   this  church,  which    was    fittingly 


128  One  Hundred  Years  of 

celebrated  under  Mr.  Gardner's  direction.  He  was  noted  as 
an  organizer,  and  endeavored  to  enlist  the  interest  of  every 
individual  in  some  parish  agency. 

The  young  men's  society  of  that  day  was  a  strong  force 
here,  as  was  also  his  parish  paper,  "The  Earnest  Workers." 
The  industrial  school  and  the  kindergarten  did  excellent 
work. 

He  fostered  also  St.  Paul's  Mission  in  Deerfield,  which  still 
remains  under  the  pastoral  care  of  this  parish.  Mr.  Gardner's 
activities  were  not  confined  to>  Trinity  Church,  but  made 
themselves  felt  in  the  convocation,  and  in  the  diocese  at  large. 
The  parish  of  the  Holy  Cross  in  this  city  owes  much  of  its 
early  progress  to  his  faithful  work  there. 

His  fine  physical  manhood,  his  ever  cordial  and  genial 
manners,  his  open  hearted  sympathies  for  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  attracted  to  him  many  friends  in  this  com- 
munity, both  inside  and  outside  the  parish.  He  was  chaplain 
of  the  Utica  Citizen's  Corps,  and  loved  to  have  them  here  in 
a  body  at  this  church.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that  "His 
service  was  not  the  less  effective  among  men,  or  less  ac- 
cordant with  the  purposes  of  God  because  it  was  active  rather 
than  studious,  lying  on  the  lines  of  practical  usefulness,  rather 
than  of  speculative  research."  From  all  I  have  heard  of  him 
through  friends  and  parishioners,  no  other  words  could  ex- 
press more  exactly  the  position  which  he  held  among  the 
rectors  of  this  parish. 

From  my  own  vantage  ground  I  feel  that  we  owe  very 
much  to  just  that  vigorous,  sympathetic  earnestness  which 
at  that  time  the  parish  most  needed.  Many  changes  have 
taken  place  since  his  resignation  in  1886,  and  we  are  much 
more  of  a  "down-town"  church  to-day  than  then,  but  surely 
we  of  to-day  should  bless  God  that  he  sent  to  Trinity  just 
when  he  did,  such  a  man  as  Charles  H.  Gardner.    Mr.  Gard- 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  129 

ner  was  born  at  Long  Hill,  Connecticut,  January  23,  1850, 
the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  Henry  V.  Gardner.  He  left  Trin- 
ity College,  Connecticut,  in  his  senior  year,  and  entered 
Nashotah  Seminary,  where  his  theologial  education  was  com- 
pleted. 

He  was  ordained  deacon  in  St.  James  Church,  Syracuse, 
June  8,  1873,  and  priest  in  Calvary  Church,  Utica,  June  18, 
1874.  His  first  work  was  the  charge  of  St.  John's  Church, 
Clayville,  and  Christ  Church,  Bridgewater.  On  November  1, 
1874,  he  accepted  the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  Fayette- 
ville,  this  diocese,  where  he  remained  until  called  here  in  1878. 

He  went  from  here  in  1886  to  Omaha,  Nebraska,  as  Dean 
of  Trinity  Cathedral,  which  important  work  he  served  until 
his  sudden  and  untimely  decease  on  August  8,  1896.  In 
Omaha  and  Nebraska  he  was  loved  and  honored.  Besides 
being  Dean  of  the  Cathedral,  he  was  President  of  the  Stand- 
ing Committee,  Examining  Chaplain,  and  Deputy  to  the 
General  Convention. 

The  same  qualifications  he  exhibited  while  rector  here 
developed  in  that  larger  field  to  their  greatest  extent,  and  the 
parish,  the  press,  and  the  people  of  Omaha  all  united  in  bear- 
ing testimony  to  his  remarkable  usefulness  as  a  clergyman 
and  as  a  citizen. 

On  April  24,  1887,  the  Rev.  William  D.  Maxon,  D.  D., 
began  his  ministry  here  as  the  successor  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Gardner.  After  a  rectorship  of  seven  years,  he  resigned  on 
April  8,  1894,  to  accept  the  strong  parish  of  Calvary  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  There  were  124  baptisms  and  118 
confirmations  while  he  was  here. 

The  present  commodious  and  very  useful  Parish  House 
was  built  in  1893,  affording  room  for  all  parish  activities.  As 
we  have  the  pleasure  of  Dr.  Maxon's  presence  with  us  to- 
day, and  of  hearing  from  him,  it  would  not  perhaps  be  in 
keeping  for  me  to  write  of  him  as  of  those  who  can  no  longer 


130  One  Hundred  Years  of 

speak  for  themselves.  He  is  honored  and  loved  in  Trinity 
Church  and  in  Utica,  and  his  presence  in  this  church  never 
fails  to  bring  out  a  large  and  interested  congregation.  His 
scholarship,  his  marked  ability  as  a  writer  and  preacher,  and 
his  powers  as  an  organizer  have  in  his  present  large  and  im- 
portant work  every  opportunity  of  further  development.  We 
welcome  him  here  to-day,  and  wish  for  him  in  his  present 
and  future  work  continued  blessings. 

Dr.  Maxon  was  born  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  and  was 
graduated  from  Union  College  of  that  city  in  1878,  from 
which,  in  1884,  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  A.,  and  in  1894 
that  of  D.  D.  His  theological  studies  were  pursued  at  the 
General  Theological  Seminary,  and  at  Berkeley  Divinity 
School,  Middletown,  Connecticut,  from  the  latter  of  which 
he  graduated  in  1881.  He  was  ordered  Deacon  on  June  25, 
1881,  and  Priest  May  21,  1882,  in  St.  George's  Church, 
Schenectady,  by  Right  Rev.  William  Croswell  Doane  of  Al- 
bany. He  was  missionary  at  Fonda,  New  York,  from  June 
to  September,  1881 ;  was  rector's  assistant  in  St.  George's, 
Schenectady,  from.  November,  1881,  to  April,  1882;  was  act- 
ing professor  of  Logic  and  Rhetoric  in  Union  College  from 
September,  1882,  to  January,  1883;  he  became  rector  of  Grace 
Church,  Waterford,  New  York,  May,  1883,  and  was  there 
until  his  call  to  this  parish.  He  has  published  the  following 
books  in  pamphlet  forms.  In  1892,  'The  Passion  Play  at 
Oberammergau;"  in  1895,  "Confirmation,  Some  Plain  Ques- 
tions and  Answers;"  also  "Messages  of  Christmas,  Good 
Friday  and  Easter;"  in  1896,  "Calvary  Church  Papers;"  and 
in  1898,  "Beyond  the  Grave." 

Thus  ends,  my  friends,  the  long  story  of  one  hundred  years 
down  to  the  present  rectorship,  which  began  August  19, 
1894.  This  can  be  more  fittingly  told  at  the  next  centennial. 
May  the  good  deeds  to  which  we  have  listened  to-day,  be  an 
inspiration  to  us  in  our  generation  to  "go  and  do  likewise." 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  131 

THE  CHOIRS  OF  "OLD  TRINITY." 


BY  JOHN  BURT,   JR.,    NEW  YORK   CITY,    A    FORMER    ORGANIST 
OF  TRINITY  CHURCH,   AND  BY   THE   REV.    J.    R.    HARDING. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  Trinity  Church  was  during  the 
rectorate  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Proal,  and  this  acquaintance  contin- 
ued through  the  periods  of  service  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coxe  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gardner.  It  was  after  the  alterations  had  been 
made  in  the  interior  of  the  church  in  the  early  fifties,  when  the 
more  modern  style  of  pews  replaced  the  old  fashioned  wood- 
en boxes  so  to  speak,  that  the  services  at  this  church  became 
distinguished  at  home  and  abroad  for  the  high  excellence  of 
its  famous  choir,  which  came  into  existence  during  the  incum- 
bency of  Dr.  Joseph  Sieboth  as  organist.  Dr.  Sieboth  was  a 
born  musician,  and  as  an  organist  had  no  superior  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  It  detracts  nothing  from  the  merit  and  worth 
justly  accorded  to  that  distinguished  pulpit  orator,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Coxe,  to  say  that  much  of  the  popularity  of  Trinity 
Church,  Utica,  during  that  period  of  her  history  was  due  to 
the  services  of  this  eminent  organist  and  musician,  and  the  al- 
most incomparable  choir  which  he  had  trained,  and  as  com- 
pletely controlled  as  ever  musicians  or  singers  were  under  the 
baton  of  their  leader.  The  music  of  the  church  was  the  very 
red  letter  of  its  service,  and  he  or  she  who  did  not  enter  the 
church  full  fifteen  minutes  before  the  commencement  of  the 
service  had  no  chance  for  a  seat  on  the  main  floor  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  was  frequently  obliged  to  remain  a  standing 
listener  to  the  delightful  music  of  this  famous  choir,  and  the 
preaching  of  this  eloquent  rector  from  the  rear  aisles  in  the 
gallery,  even  if  he  were  fortunate  enough  to  get  even  so 
desirable  a  place.  There  are  hundreds  if  not  thousands,  now 
living  in  Utica  who  often  journeyed  to  old  Trinity  on  Sunday 
evenings  in  years  gone  by  to  hear  Dr.  Sieboth  "play  the  or- 


*32  One  Hundred  Years  of 

gan,"  and  Miss  Kate  Lloyd,  Miss  Fannie  Green,  Mrs.  Spruce, 
Mrs.  Shapiey,  Williamson  Spruce,  Dr.  C.  B.  Foster  and  Ed- 
ward Kunkely  "do  the  singing."  Those  surely  were  not  the 
days  of  "congregational  singing,"  and  there  was  but  one  voice 
below  stairs  that  ever  presumed  to  take  any  part  in  the  mu- 
sical service,  and  the  dear  old  saint,  whom  many  will  recall 
by  this  slight  reference,  while  really  meaning  no  harm,  cer- 
tainly did  no  good,  and  as  he  has  long  since  been  gathered 
to  his  fathers,  we  will  pass  the  incident  by.  How  shall  we 
speak  of  the  solos,  duets,  trios,  anl  quartettes  rendered  by 
these  delightful  singers?  They  were  simply  grand,  to  use  a 
comprehensive  and  well  understood  term,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  it  may  be  possible  that  even  more  went  away  at 
the  close  of  the  service  charmed  by  what  they  had  heard  from 
the  north  rather  than  from  the  south  end  of  the  church.  I  do 
not  think  many  members  of  the  present  Choir  of  the  church 
know  of  the  fame  of  these  their  predecessors,  and  it  won't  hurt 
them>  any  to  say  so. 

The  fame  of  this  choir  spread  not  only  throughout  Central 
New  York,  but  was  known  and  praised  as  far  west  as  Buf- 
falo, and  as  far  east  as  New  York. 

Further  mention  on  the  same  subject  may  find  interest  in 
the  following  narration  of  events  succeeding.  With  the  sever- 
ing of  Dr.  Sieboth's  connection  with  the  music  at  Trinity, 
there  was  for  a  season  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  matter  of  pro- 
viding a  choir  of  the  high  order  of  the  one  which  left  behind 
it  many  delightful  memories,  and  the  liberal  allowance  for 
providing  a  choir  suitable  to  the  services  of  the  church  was 
very  materially  curtailed.  Mr.  W.  H.  Bull  succeeded  to  the 
organ  stool,  and  with  him  was  a  choir  drawn  from  the  young 
ladies  of  the  church  and  Sunday  School,  quite  a  numerous 
body,  but  lacking  in  the  necessary  parts  sustained  by  male 
voices.  To  enumerate  all  of  the  members  who  did  their  best 
under  the  circumtances  to  give  emphasis  to  the  musical  por- 


Trinity  Church,  Ulica,  N.  Y.  133 

tion  of  the  church  is  beyond  my  ability,  but  the  names  of 
Misses  Bush,  Colling,  Woodruff,  Seward,  Perkins,  Dunn  and 
Hawthorne  are  well  within  my  recollection,  and  against  this  ar- 
ray of  soprano  and  alto,  some  twenty  in  number,  the  sub* 
scriber's  effort  at  a  bass  part  was  almost  if  not  entirely  lost  in 
the  volume  of  sweet  sound  produced  by  this  very  numerous 
female  choir. 

But  the  church  was  ere  long  to  have  a  change  in  choirs. 
The  necessity  for  it  was  apparent,  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
Vestry  a  sum  was  raised  among  the  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, among  them  Ex-Governor  Seymour,  Selden  Collins, 
Miles  C.  Comstock,  Joseph  A.  Shearman,  Charles  W.  Hut- 
chinson, John  G.  Marklove,  Thomas  W.  Seward,  A.  L.  Wood- 
ruff, all  now  deceased,  and  several  others  equally  interested  in 
restoring  the  music  to  its  former  excellent  standing,  to  pro- 
vide a  soprano  and  contralto  of  merit.  Miss  Gertrude 
Leach  (now  Mrs.  Thomas  F.  Clarke),  Miss  Emily  Paine,  Wil- 
liamson Spruce  and  George  J.  Buchanan  for  a  number  of  years 
formed  a  quartett  choir  which  became  well  known  in  and 
about  Utica  and  Central  New  York,  and  most  effectively  ren- 
dered the  musical  portion  of  the  service.  With  this  choir  I 
became  associated  as  organist  at  the  commencement  of  its 
period  of  service,  but  not  to  remain  for  any  great  length  of 
time.  I  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Rockwell,  and  he  in 
turn  by  his  brother  William,  both  well  equipped  for  the  posi- 
tion. Miss  Payne  remained  until  her  death,  and  Miss  Mary 
Willard  succeeded  her  as  contralto,  and  remained  a  member 
for  four  or  five  years,  to  be  followed  by  Miss  Lillian  Leach, 
Miss  Sophie  Hedges  (now  Mrs.  Dr.  Haberer)  became  organist 
after  the  retirement  of  Mr.  William  Rockwell,  and  filled  the 
position  most  acceptably  for  a  number  of  years.  This  choir 
served,  with  the  changes  mentioned,  or  a  few  of  them,  for  a 
period  of  about  twelve  years,  Mr.  Charles  Spencer  taking  Mr. 
Buchanan's  place  as  basso,  after  a  service  by  the  former  con- 


134  One  Hundred  Years  of 

tinned  successively  and  successfully  for  nine  years.  Mr.  Spen- 
cer was  the  master  spirit  of  this  choir,  and  it  goes  without  say- 
ing that  anything  that  he  undertook  in  a  musical  way  was  a 
sure  success  from  the  beginning,  as  was  evidenced  by  his  lead- 
ership of  the  Utica  Mendelsohn  Club  in  its  brightest  and  best 
days. 

I  have  not  with  me  more  recent  data,  but  I  well  remember 
that  there  were  at  times  present  in  the  choir  singers  deserving 
of  more  than  a  passing  notice,  and  among  them  I  may  mention 
Mrs.  Cleveland  (a  sister-in-law  of  the  Ex-President,  I  believe), 
Miss  Kittie  Foster,  Miss  Lottie  McLane,  Misses  Maggie  and 
Annie  German,  Miss  Phebe  Lloyd  and  Miss  Eaton,  all  of 
whom  were  at  one  time  or  another  connected  with  the  church 
choir,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Mrs.  Cleveland,  and 
among  the  gentlemen  who  have  assisted,  notably  are  Mr.  John 
S.  Hunt,  who  died  in  the  early  years  of  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, Mr.  Ferdinand  H.  Dunkinson  for  twenty-seven  years  the 
great  basso  of  Trinity  Church  New  York  City;  Mr.  Clinton 
M.  Ball,  a  very  delightful  tenor,  afterwards  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  choir  for  a  number  of  years;  Mr.  Frank  M. 
O'Neil,  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Shepard,  well  known  to  all  lovers  of  good 
music,  and  some  others  who  are  entitled  to  equal  mention,  but 
whose  names  unfortunately  have  escaped  me  at  this  writing. 

Other  organists  of  the  Church  following  Mrs.  Haberer  have 
been  Mr.  George  Owens,  Mr.  A.  L.  Barnes,  Mr.  De  Henn- 
berg,  Mr.  Perley  Dunn  Aldrich,  Mr.  George  Beechwood,  and 
the  present  incumbent,  Mr.  H.  G.  Carpenter.  Some  of  the 
singers  from  time  to  time,  under  these  several  organists  last 
mentioned,  have  been  Miss  Ada  Read,  Miss  Lillie  Arthur,  Mr. 
J.  H.  Hodgkinson,  Mr.  Frank  Nightingale,  Mr.  L.  D.  Tour- 
tellot,  Miss  Dygert,  Miss  Norton,  Mr.  and  Miss  Cushing,  Mr. 
Thomas  Colling,  Miss  H.  Louise  Dunn,  now  Mrs.  Hugh 
Crocker,  Miss  Kate  Waters,  now  Mrs.  W.  S.  Crocker,  Miss 
Harriett  Brayton,  Miss  Son,  Miss  Lizzie  Reichert,  Mr.  G.  W. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y .  135 

Payne,  Mr.  William  L.  Bowes,  Mrs.  Cole,  Mr.  William  Gur- 
ley,  Mr.  Malcolm  Francis,  Mr.  C.  S.  Crandall,  Mr.  C.  R.  Miz- 
ner,  Miss  Leona  Robbins,  Mrs.  G.  A.  Rogers,  Mr.  A.  J.  Brom- 
ley, Mr.  Norman  L.  West,  Mrs.  Norman  L.  West,  nee  Miss 
Rena  Shirley;  Mrs.  Mary  O'Connor,  Mr.  John  A.  Hughes, 
Mr.  John  P.  Williams,  Mr.  Fred.  S.  Black,  Mr.  Frank  Willis, 
Mr.  M.  C.  Wright,  Mr.  Owen  Pugh,  Miss  Grace  Munson, 
Miss  Cloyes,  Miss  Katharine  Smith,  Mr.  Harry  E.  Hyde,  Mr. 
Griffith  Evans,  Mr.  Dana  Benjamin,  Mr.  George  Irle,  Miss 
Bertha  Deane,  Miss  Grace  Clarke,  Miss  Allie  Clarke,  Miss 
Florence  Hurley,  Miss  Elizabeth  Brothers,  Miss  Lewis,  Miss 
Goodrich,  Miss  Jennie  Owston,  Miss  Pritchard,  Mr.  Sidney 
Matthews,  Mr.  W.  E.  Jones,  Mr.  Arthur  Schrader,  Mr.  George 
M.  Weaver,  Jr.,  Miss  Sarah  Gardner,  Mr.  George  W.  Miller, 
Mr.  John  Walton,  Mr.  Charles  Wenzel,  Miss  Mary  E.  McNeil, 
Mr.  H.  Lee  Austin,  Miss  Gertrude  Sink,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Ballou,  Miss  Maud  Willis,  Miss  Jessie  Sheets. 

During  the  summer  of  1896  the  necessary  changes  were 
made  in  the  church  for  the  introduction  of  a  mixed  vested 
choir.  The  organ  was  brought  down  stairs  from  its  old  loca- 
tion over  the  front  door,  and  placed  on  the  east  side  of  the 
chancel.  The  first  service  rendered  by  the  new  choir  was  on 
the  seventeenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  September  27th,  1896. 
The  change  proved  an  acceptable  one  from  the  beginning,  and 
under  Mr.  Carpenter's  direction  has  already  completed  two 
years  of  successful  work. 


136  One  Hundred  Years  of 

THE  ROLL  OF  RECTORS,    WARDENS,     AND    VES- 
TRYMEN FROM  THE    PERMANENT    ORGANI- 
ZATION OF  THE  PARISH  IN  1804  DOWN 
TO  1898. 


COPIED  AND   COMPILED   FROM  THE    RECORDS    OF    THE    PAR- 
ISH,   BY   MR.    D.    WALTER   PERKINS,    UTICA,    N.    Y.,    IN   1887, 
AND   COMPLETED   TO   1898,    BY  THE  REV.  J.  R.  HARDING. 

The  following  list  gives  order  of  succession  of  the  Rectors, 
Wardens  and  Vestrymen,  from  the  date  of  the  incorporation  of 
the  church  to  the  present  time. 

The  Rectors  of  Trinity  Church  have  been: 

i,  Rev.  Jonathan  Judd,  from  1804,  until  latter  part  of  1806. 

2,  Rev.  Amos  G.  Baldwin,  from  September  22,  1807,  until 
May  12,  1818. 

3,  Rev.  Henry  M.  Shaw,  from  August  23,  1819,  until  May 
22,  1821. 

4,  Rev.  Henry  Anthon,  from  May  29,  1821,  until  January 
19,  1829. 

5,  Rev.  Benjamin  Dorr,  from  May  15,  1829,  until  October 

6,  1835. 

6,  Rev.  Pierre  Alexis  Proal,  from  January  25,  1836,  until 
May  5,  1857. 

7,  Rev.  S.  Hanson  Coxe,  from  August  1,  1857,  until  No- 
vember 1,  1877. 

8,  Rev.  Charles  H.  Gardner,  from  January  11,  1878,  until 
November  1,  1886. 

9,  Rev.  William  D.  Maxon,  from  April  24,  1887,  until  April 
8,  1894. 

10,  Rev.  John  Ravenscroft  Harding,  from  August  19,  1894. 
The  Church  Wardens  have  been: 

Abraham.  M.  Vvralton,  elected  August  14,  1804.  Served  un- 
til April  15,  1805;  Nathan  Williams,  elected  August  14,  1804, 
served  until  April  7,  1806.    The  original  two. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  137 

Benjamin  Walker,  elected  April  15,  1805.  Served  until 
April  7,  1806. 

Francis  A.  Bloodgood,  elected  April  7,  1806.  Served  until 
April  3,  1809. 

William  Inman,  elected  April  7,  1806.  Served  until 
March  30,  1807. 

Nathan  Williams,  elected  March  30,  1807.  Served  until 
April  18,  1808. 

Samuel  Hooker,  elected  April  18,  1808.  Served  until  April 
3,  1809. 

Nathan  Williams,  elected  April  3,  1809.  Served  until  April 
18,  1831. 

William  Inman,  elected  April  3,  1809.     Served  until  April 

15,  1810. 

Samuel  Hooker,  elected  April  15,  1810.  Served  until  April 
3,  i82(5. 

James  Cochran,  elected  April  3,  1826.     Served  until  April 

16,  1827. 

Rudolph  Snyder,  elected  April  16,  1827.  Served  until  April 
11,  1831. 

Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  elected  April  11,  183 1.  Served  until 
April  11,  1831. 

Rudolph  Snyder,  elected  May  2,  183 1.    Served  until  April 

3,  1833. 

Nathan  Williams,  elected  May  2,  183 1.  Served  until  April 
20,  1835. 

Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  elected  April  8,  1833.  Served  until 
April  20,  1835. 

Elisha  Wells,  elected  April  20,  1835.    Served  until  April  1, 

1839. 
Chester  Griswold,  elected  April  20,  1835.    Served  until  April 

4,  1836. 

Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  elected  April  4,  1836.  Served  until 
March  27,  1837. 


138  One  Hundred  Years  of 

John  A.  Russ,  elected  March  27,  1837.  Served  until  April 
1,  1839. 

Alexander  B.  Johnson,  elected  April  1,  1839.  Served  until 
April  13,  1846. 

Timothy  Pitkin,  elected  April  1,  1839.     Served  until  April 

20,  1840. 

Horatio  Seymour,  elected  April  20,  1840.  Served  until  April 
15,  1882. 

John  A.  Russ,  elected  April  13,  1846.  Served  until  April  I, 
1861. 

Selden  Collins,  elected  April  1,  1861.  Died  October  20,  1885. 

Joseph  A.  Shearman,  elected  1882.    Died  July  21,  i886\ 

Miles  C.  Comstoek,  elected  February  3,  1886.  Died  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1894. 

Charles  W.  Hutchinson,  elected  May  11,  1887.  Served  until 
October  16,  1890. 

William  M.  Storrs,  elected  October  29,  1890. 

John  B.  Wild,  elected  March  26,  1894.    Served  until  April 

21,  1895. 

George  M.  Weaver,  elected  April  21,  1895. 

The  Vestrymen  have  been: 

William  Inman,  elected  August  14,  1804,  served  until  elect- 
ed Warden,  April  7,  1806;  Charles  Walton,  elected  August  14, 
1804,  served  until  March  30,  1807;  John  Smith,  elected  Au- 
gust 14,  1804,  served  until  April  15,  1805;  Benjamin  Walker, 
elected  August  14,  1804,  served  until  elected  Warden,  April 
15,  1805;  Samuel  Hooker,  elected  August  14,  1804,  served  un- 
til elected  Warden,  April  18,  1808;  Aylmer  Johnson,  elected 
August  14,  1804,  served  until  April  19,  1813;  James  Hopper, 
elected  August  14,  1804,  served  until  March  30,  1807;  Edward 
Smith,  elected  August  14,  1804,  served  until  April  15,  1805. 
The  original  eight. 

Francis  A.  Bloodgood,  elected  April  15,  1805.  Served  until 
elected  Warden,  April  7,  i8od. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  139 

Bryan  Johnson,  elected  April  15,  1805.  Served  until  April 
7,  1806. 

John  Bissell,  elected  April  15,  1805.  Served  until  March  30, 
1807. 

Nathan  Williams,  elected  April  7,  1806.  Served  until  elect- 
ed Warden,  March  30,  1807. 

Benjamin  Walker,  elected  April  7,  1806.  Served  until 
March  23,  1818. 

Morris  S.  Miller,  elected  April  7,  i8o<5.  Served  until  March 
30,  1807. 

Bryan  Johnson,  elected  March  30,  1807.  Served  until  April 
19,  1824. 

Henry  Kip,  elected  March  30,  1807.  Served  until  April  18, 
1808. 

William  Inman,  elected  March  30,  1807.    Served  until  April 

3,  1809. 

Walter  Morgan,  elected  March  30,  1807.  Served  until 
April  18,  1808. 

Alexander  Johnson,  elected  March  30,  1807.  Served  until 
April  18,  1808. 

Nathan  Williams,  elected  April  18,  1808.  Served  until 
April  3,  1809. 

John  B.  Mitchell,  elected  April  18,  1808.  Served  until  April 
2^,  1810. 

Peter  Bours,  elected  April  18,  1808.  Served  until  April  11, 
1814. 

Morris  S.  Miller,  elected  April  18,  1808.    Served  until  April 

4,  1825. 

Francis  A.  Bloodgood,  elected  April  3,  1809.  Served  until 
April  15,  181 1. 

Samuel  Hooker,  elected  April  3,  1809.  Elected  Warden 
April  15,  1810. 

James  Delvin,  elected  April  23,  1810.  Served  until  April 
7,  1817. 


140  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Aylmer  Johnson,  elected  April  15,  181 1.  Served  until  March 

30,  1812. 

Montgomery  Hunt,  elected  April  15,  181 1.  Served  until 
March  30,  1812. 

Francis  A.  Bloodgood,  elected  March  30,  1812.  Served  un- 
til April  14,  1816. 

William  Inman,  elected  March  30,  1812.  Served  until  April 
II,  1814. 

James  Kissam,  elected  April  19,  181 3.  Served  until  April 
7,  1817. 

Abraham  Van  Santvoord,  elected  April  11,  1814.  Served 
until  April  12,  1819. 

Jonathan  Hedges,  elected  April  11,  1814.  Served  until 
March  27,  181 5. 

William  Jones,  elected  March  27,  181 5.  Served  until  April 
7,  1817. 

Killian  Winnie,  elected  April  14,  1816.    Served  until  March 

31,  1823. 

Collings  Locke,  elected  April  7,  18 17.  Served  until  April 
2Z,  1821. 

Montgomery  Hunt,  elected  April  7,  18 17.  Served  until 
December  16,  1818. 

Walter  Fleming,  elected  April  7,  181 7.  Served  until  April 
3,  1820. 

Francis  A.  Bloodgood,  elected  March  23,  1818.  Served  un- 
til April  8,  1 82 1. 

William  Kyte,  elected  April  12,  18 19.  Served  until  April 
3,  1826. 

William  Jones,  elected  April  12,  1819.  Served  until  April 
3,  1820. 

John  Cleaver,  elected  April  3,  1820.  Served  until  April  23, 
1821. 

Peter  Bours,  elected  April  3,  1820.  Served  until  April  19, 
1824. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  141 

Robert  Shearman,  elected  April  23,  182 1.  Served  until  April 
16,  1827. 

William  Hayes,  elected  April  23,  182 1.  Served  until  April 
8,  1822. 

Richard  B.  Lansing,  elected  April  8,  1822.  Served  until 
April  25,  1829. 

James  Cochran,  elected  April  8,  1822.  Elected  Warden 
April  3,  1826. 

Montgomery  Hunt,  elected  March  31,  1823.  Served  until 
April  12,  1830. 

Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  elected.  April  19,  1824.  Served  until 
April  25,  1829. 

Elisha  Wells,  elected  April  19,  1824.  Elected  Warden  April 
20,  1835. 

Henry  Seymour,  elected  April  4,  1825.  Served  until  April 
16,  1827. 

Augustine  G.  Dauby,  elected  April  3,  1826.  Served  until 
April  id,  1827. 

Rudolph  Snyder,  elected  April  3,  1826.  Served  until  elected 
Warden  April  16,  1827. 

Chester  Griswold,  elected  April  16,  1827.  Served  until  April 
12,  1830. 

Stephen  Walker,  elected  April  16,  1827.  Served  until  April 
8,  1833. 

Henry  Seymour,  elected  April  25,  1829.  Served  until  April 
4,  i83<5. 

Augustine  G.  Dauby,  elected  April  25,  1829.  Served  until 
April  12,  1830. 

Rutger  B.  Miller,  elected  April  25,  1829.  Served  until  De- 
cember 21,  1836. 

S.  A.  Sibley,  elected  April  25,  1829.  Served  until  April  12, 
1830. 

Elon  Andrews,  elected  April  12,  1830.  Served  until  April 
4,  1831. 


142  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Samuel  Beardsley,  elected  April  12,  1830.  Served  until 
April  4,  1831. 

Peleg  B.  Beckham,  elected  April  12,  1830.  Served  until 
April  4,  1836. 

Henry  Green,  elected  April  12,  1830.    Served  until  April  8, 

1833. 

Joseph  S.  Porter,  elected  April  4,  183 1.  Served  until  April 
8,  1833. 

Thomas  Colling,  elected  April  4,  1831.  Served  until  April 
23,  1832. 

Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  elected  April  2^y  1832.  Served  until 
elected  Warden  April  8,  1833. 

John  E.  Hinman,  elected  April  8,  1833.  Served  until  March 
27,  1837. 

Samuel  Beardsley,  elected  April  8,  1833.  Served  until  April 
20, 1835. 

Thomas  Colling,  elected  April  8,  1833.  Served  until  April 
20,  1835. 

Montgomery  Hunt,  elected  April  8,  1833.  Served  until 
March  31,  1834. 

Henry  Green,  elected  March  31,  1834.  Served  until  Decem- 
ber 21,  1836. 

Julius  A.  Spencer,  elected  April  20,  1835.  Served  until 
March  27,  1837. 

Ziba  Lyon,  elected  April  20,  1835.    Served  until  March  2jr 

1837. 
John  A.  Russ,  elected  April  20,  1835.     Served  until  April 

4, 1836. 

Gerry  Sanger,  elected  April  20,  1835.  Served  until  April 
4,  1836. 

Hiram  Denio,  elected  April  4,  1836.  Served  until  April  1, 
1839. 

Charles  B.  Coventry,  elected  April  4,  1836.  Served  until 
April  8,  1844. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  143 

D.  Prentice,  elected  April  4,  1836.    Served  until  March  27, 

1837. 

Fred  Hollister,  elected  December  21,  1836.  Served  until 
April  12,  1841. 

Peleg  B.  Peckham,  elected  December  21,  1836.  Served 
until  March  27,  1837. 

James  Watson  Williams,  elected  March  2jy  1837.  Served 
until  April  I,  1839. 

Simon  V.  Oley,  elected  March  27,  1837.  Served  until 
April  12,  1841. 

Richard  Brown,  elected  March  27,  1837.  Served  until  April 
1,  1839. 

V.  V.  Livingston,  elected  March  27,  1837.  Served  until 
April  16,  1838. 

David  Hunt,  Jr.,  elected  March  27,  1837.  Served  until  April 

I,  1839- 

Abraham  B.  Williams,  elected  April  16,  1838.  Served  until 
April  12,  1 84 1. 

Horatio  Seymour,  elected  April  1,  1839.  Elected  Warden 
April  20,  1840. 

Ward  Hunt,  elected  April  1,  1839.  Served  until  March  28, 
1842. 

Timothy  O.  Grannis,  elected  April  1,  1839.  Served  until 
March  28,  1842. 

William  Bristol,  elected  April  1,  1839.  Served  until  April 
24,  1848. 

Hiram  Greenman,  elected  April  20,  1840.  Served  until 
April  24,  1848. 

Benj.  Owens,  elected  April  12,  1841.  Served  until  March 
28,  1842. 

Thomas  Colling,  elected  April  12,  1841.  Served  until  March 
28,  1842. 

Joseph  Benedict,  elected  April  12,  1841.  Served  until  April 
18,  1844. 


144  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Timothy  C.  B.  Knowlson,  elected  March  28,  1842.  Served 
until  April  18,  1844. 

William  Baker,  elected  March  28,  1842.    Served  until  April 

17,  1843. 

Augustine  G.  Dauby,  elected  March  28,  1842.  Served  un- 
til April  17,  1843. 

Martin  Hart,  elected  March  28,  1842.     Served  until  April 

17,  1843. 

John  A.  Russ,  elected  April  17,  1843.  Elected  Warden  April 
13,  1846. 

Joab  Stafford,  elected  April  17,  1843.  Served  until  March 
24,  1845. 

Allen  N.  Smith,  elected  April  17,  1843.  Served  until  March 
24,  1845. 

Benjamin  Owens,  elected  April  8,  1844.  Served  until  April 
13,  1846. 

Hugh  Crocker,  elected  April  8,  1844.  Served  until  April 
17,  1854. 

Anson  Little,  elected  April  8,  1844.    Served  until  March  24, 

1845- 

Timothy  O.  Grannis,  elected  March  24,  1845.  Served  until 
April  5,  1847. 

John  J.  Francis,  elected  March  24,  1845.    Died  May  5,  1877. 

S.  V.  Vedder,  elected  March  24,  1845.  Served  until  April 
13,  1846. 

William  Morris,  elected  April  13,  1846.  Served  until  April 
24,  1848. 

Joseph  A.  Shearman,  elected  April  13,  1846.  Elected  War- 
den, 1882. 

Thomas  Hopper,  elected  April  13,  184^.  Served  until  April 
5>  1847. 

Harry  Dows,  elected  April  5,  1847.  Served  until  April  1, 
1861. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  145 

Joseph  Benedict,  elected  April  5,  1847.    Served  until  April 
9,  1849. 

Frederick  Hollister,  elected  April  24,  1848.     Served  until 
April  1,  1850. 

David  Prentice,  elected  April  24,  1848.    Served  until  April 
If  1850. 

Richard  Savage,  elected  April  24,  1848.    Served  until  April 
1,  1850. 

Timothy  O.  Grannis,  elected  April  9,  1849.     Served  until 
April  21,  185 1. 

Dr.  D.  G.  Thomas,  elected    April     1,    1850.     Served  until 
March  28,  1853. 

Henry  Green,  elected  April  1,  1850.    Served  until  April  21, 
1851. 

Hubbard  C.  Pond,  elected  April  1,  1850.    Served  until  April 
17,  1854. 

Selden  Collins,  elected  April  21,  1851.    Served  until  elect- 
ed Warden,  April  1,  1861. 

T.  C.  B.  Knowlson,  elected  April  21,  1851.     Served  until 
April  12,  1852. 

Wm.  Bristol,  elected  April  12,  1852.    Served  until  March 
24, 1856. 

A.  B.  Johnson,  elected  March  28,  1853.  Served  until  April 
17,  1854. 

Willis  Sherwood,  elected     April     17,    1854.     Served  until 
March  24,  185(5. 

John  Arthur,  elected  April  17,  1854.    Served  until  April  I, 
1861. 

Wm.  H.  Judson,  elected  April  17,  1854.  Served  until  March 
24,  1856. 

Hugh  Crocker,  elected  March    24,    1856.     Served    until 
April  25,  1859. 

Miles  C.  Comstock,  elected  March  24,  1856.     Served  until 
elected  Warden,  February  3,  1886. 


146  One  Hundred  Years  of 

Henry  Hopson,  elected  March  24,  1856.  Served  until  April 
17,  1865. 

Charles  B.  Foster,  elected  April  25,  1859.  Served  until  April 
21,  1862. 

Thomas  W.  Seward,  elected  April  1,  1861.  Served  until 
March  28,  1864. 

Charles  W.  Hutchinson,  elected  April  1,  1861.  Served  un- 
til April  22,  1867. 

Edwin  B.  Russ,  elected  April  1,  1861.     Served  until  April 

13,  1868. 

Theodore  F.  Butterfield,  elected  April  21,  1862.  Served  un- 
til April  17,  1876. 

A.  L.  Woodruff,  elected  March  28,  1864.  Served  until 
April  10,  1882. 

Porteus  B.  Root,  elected  April  17,  1865.  Served  until  April 
I,  1872. 

Thomas  W.  Seward,  elected  April  22,  1867.  Served  until 
March  29,  1880. 

Charles  W.  Hutchinson,  elected  April  13,  1868.  Elected 
Warden  May  18,  1887. 

Erastus  Blauvelt,  elected  April  1,  1872.  Served  until  April 
H,  1873. 

Alfred  H.  Colling,  elected  April  14,  1873.  Served  until 
April  22,  1878. 

James  M.  Weed,  elected  April  17,  1876.    Served  until  April 

14,  1879. 

William  M.  Storrs,  elected  August  20,  1877.  Elected  War- 
den October  29,  1890. 

Harvey  D.  Talcott,  elected  April  22,  1878.  Served  until 
April  10,  1882. 

J.  G.  Marklove,  elected  April  14,  1879.  Died  August  21, 
1891. 

John  B.  Wild,  elected  March  29,  1880.  Elected  Warden 
March  26,  1894. 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  147 

George  M.  Weaver,  elected  April  10,  1882.  Elected  War- 
den April  21,  1895. 

Charles  E.  Chase,  elected  April  10,  1882. 

Thomas  Renswick  Colling,  elected  April  10,  1882.  Served 
April  6,  1885. 

Edmund  A.  Graham,  elected  April  6,  1885.  Died  January 
27,  1889. 

Henry  F.  Mansfield,  elected  February  3,  i88(5.  Served  un- 
til April  6,  1896. 

N.  Curtiss  White,  elected  May  11,  1887. 

Fordyce  H.  Green,  elected  April  22,  1889.     Died  April  27, 

1893. 

John  E.  McLoughlin,  elected  October  29,  1890. 

G.  Alder  Blumer,  elected  April  18,  1892. 

George  Shotthafer,  elected  March  26,  1894. 

Arthur  J.  Lux,  elected  March  26,  1894.  Served  until  April 
21,  1895. 

John  B.  Wild,  elected  April  21,  1895.  Served  until  April 
<5,  1896. 

Walter  S.  Crocker,  elected  April  21,  1895. 

Arthur  E.  Jones,  elected  April  6,  1896. 

William  H.  Hodgkinson,  elected  April  6,  1896. 

Arthur  J.  Lux,  elected  May  20,  1897. 

Arthur  Comstock,  elected  July  7,  1897. 


148  One  Hundred  Years  of 

THE  CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES. 


BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  R.  HARDING. 

The  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  Trinity  Church's  found- 
ing, was  celebrated  on  June  15  and  16,  1898,  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  thirtieth  annual  convention  of  the  Diocese  of  Cen- 
tral New  York.  It  was  an  auspicious  occasion  for  the  centen- 
nial as  the  appointment  of  the  convention  in  the  parish,  thus 
bringing  together  a  large  number  of  clergymen  and  laity  from 
all  parts  of  the  diocese,  added  to  the  attendance  and  interest 
in  the  exercises. 

At  the  first  service  on  Wednesday  evening,  June  15,  the 
church  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  old  building 
was  beautifully  and  appropriately  decorated  with  flowers  and 
the  national  flag.  Mr.  William  M.  Storrs,  Senior  Warden  of 
the  parish,  presided  at  this  and  all  services. 

The  congratulatory  addresses  all  breathed  the  spirit  of  love 
and  reverence  for  the  mother  parish,  which  is  always  evident 
in  the  city  and  diocese  of  its  location.  And  this  feeling  of 
friendliness  was  not  only  expressed  by  our  venerable  Bishop, 
representing  the  diocese,  by  the  rector  of  Grace  Church, 
speaking  for  the  sister  parishes,  by  the  beloved  rector  of  old 
St.  Paul's  on  Paris  Hill,  but  also  by  Dr.  Brown  of  Westmin- 
ster Presbyterian  Church,  bringing  the  cordial  greeting  of  the 
city's  pastors',  by  Mayor  Kinney  for  the  City  of  Utica,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  R.  Proctor,  president  of  the  Oneida  County  Histor- 
ical Society.  Everyone  felt  the  significance  of  the  occasion, 
and  entered  earnestly  into  its  spirit.  The  service,  the  singing, 
the  addresses  were  hearty  and  inspiring.  Immediately  after 
its  close  the  congregation  retired  to  the  parish  house,  where 
for  two  hours  the  Rector,  Wardens,  Vestrymen  and  parishion- 
ers generally  received  the  personal  congratulations  of  their 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y.  149 

friends  from  the  city  and  diocese,  in  social  and  delightful  con- 
cord. It  was  an  evening-  ever  to  be  remembered  in  our  an- 
nals. 

Thursday,  the  idth,  a  beautiful  June  day  lent  all  of  its 
charms  to  the  continuation  of  our  birthday  keeping.  The  first 
address  at  the  11  o'clock  service,  "The  History  of  the  Church 
in  the  Lower  Mohawk  Valley,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  Philip  B. 
Pendleton,  D.  D.,  Rector  of  St.  George's  Church,  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  was  both  scholarly  and  instructive.  This  paper, 
so  full  of  careful  and  erudite  research,  is  a  most  valuable  ad- 
dition to  the  Church  History  of  this  State  and  valley. 

The  second  paper  at  this  service,  "The  Church's  Adaptabil- 
ity to  the  Spiritual  Needs  of  our  Age,"  by  the  Rev.  William 
D.  Maxon,  D.  D.,  rector  of  Calvary  Church,  Pittsburg,  Pa., 
and  a  former  rector  of  this  parish,  was  a  most  admirable  vin- 
dication of  the  Catholicity  and  inclusiveness  of  the  church's 
position  in  this  day  and  age.  Its  language,  its  delivery,  its 
spirit,  all  stamped  its  author  as  a  redoubtable  champion  for 
the  Church  which  we  all  love,  and  all  who  heard  it  were 
strengthened  and  uplifted  by  its  sentiments. 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  luncheon  was  served  by  the 
ladies  in  the  parish  building,  to  which  all  were  invited,  and 
where  again  as  on  the  previous  evening  good  fellowship  pre- 
vailed. 

In  the  afternoon  at  3  o'clock  occurred  what  was  to  many 
the  most  interesting  feature  of  the  celebration.  "Letters  of 
Reminiscence"  recounting  memories  of  olden  days,  written  by 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Brown  of  Denver,  Colorado,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Arthur  of  Utica,  Mrs.  Isabella  C.  Peas  of  Mohawk,  N.  Y., 
and  Mr.  Robert  J.  Hubbard  of  Canzenovia,  N.  Y.,  were  read 
by  the  Rev.  John  Arthur,  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Oneida, 
N.  Y.  The  authors  of  these  several  letters  had  all  at  one  time 
been  connected  with  the  parish.  Mrs.  Brown  of  Denver,  who 
had  reached  her  95th  year,  has  died  since  her  letter  was  sent. 


150  One  Hundred  Years  of 

but  was  represented  by  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Anna  Palmer,  who 
in  her  love  for  the  old  parish  had  come  all  the  way  from  Den- 
ver to  be  present  at  this  centennial.  Mrs.  Peas  and  Mr.  Hub- 
bard were  present  at  the  service,  and  Mrs.  Arthur  was  pre- 
vented from  coming  by  feeble  health. 

Following  these  letters,  Dr.  Moses  M.  Bagg  of  Utica,  the 
learned  historian  of  our  county  and  city,  gave  some  recollec- 
tions of  Old  Trinity  during  his  long  life  spent  in  our  midst, 
paying  a  high  tribute  to'  our  honored  name  in  the  community. 
The  next  speaker  was  the  Rev.  Dudley  Chase  of  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  son  of  the  Right  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  the  founder  of 
the  parish  in  1798.  Mr.  Chase,  himself  an  honored  clergyman 
of  the  church,  and  now  a  retired  chaplain  of  the  navy,  gave 
his  recollections  of  his  father,  and  the  Bishop's  early  work 
here  and  in  the  West.  His  very  presence  at  this  centennial, 
so  uniting  our  earliest  history  with  the  present,  was  in  itself  a 
benediction.  He  impressed  all  who  heard  and  saw  him,  with 
his  gentle  spirit,  his  courtly  manners  of  the  old  school,  and 
his  ardent  reverence  for  the  noble  pioneer  Bishop,  his  father. 
Thus  linking  the  old  with  the  present,  our  anniversary  would 
have  been  incomplete  without  him. 

The  concluding  service  of  the  centennial  was  held  at  7:30 
P.  M.  of  this  same  day.  The  church  was  again  filled  in  every 
part.  The  first  paper,  "Some  Prominent  Laymen  of  Trinity 
Church,"  written  by  Miss  Blandina  D.  Miller  of  Utica,  and 
read  by  Mr.  George  M.  Weaver,  Junior  Warden  of  the  parish, 
told  the  story  of  the  many  faithful  and  distinguished  men  who 
during  the  century  had  worshiped  and  labored  here.  It  is  a 
most  valuable  adjunct  not  only  to  our  own  history,  but  to 
ijhat  of  city,  county  and  State,  and  as  she  has  shown  us,  not 
a  few  of  these  mem  held  also  a  national  reputation. 

The  closing  paper,  "The  Work  and  Characteristics  of  Trin- 
ity's Rectors,"  written  by  the  present  incumbent,  was  an  en- 
deavor to  relate  what  the  parish  owes   to    those  who   under 


Trinity  Church,  Utica,  N.  Y. 


«5i 


God's  blessing  have  served  at  its  altar  from  the  beginning  un- 
til now.  After  this  the  entire  congregation  joined  in  the  glad 
acclaim,  "Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  and  with 
the  benediction,  our  centennial  came  to  an  end,  full  of  inspira- 
tion and  hopefulness  to  all  who  were  its  privileged  witnesses. 


MM^W*affl«alBTOS» 


,'s. 


***** 

jfe*^  14  DAY  USE 

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This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

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